


Songs From Another Love

by chasind



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Deception, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Explicit Sexual Content, Hurt/Comfort, Lies, M/M, Multiple Personalities, Psychological Drama, Slight OOC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-03
Updated: 2013-09-02
Packaged: 2017-12-10 06:40:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 46,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/782981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasind/pseuds/chasind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur just went through a bad break-up. So what does he do relieve the pain? Why go to a gay bar, get drunk, and take a hot British guy named Eames home, of course. </p><p>He thinks it's just a one night stand, but then he meets Eames again in the unlikeliest of places and finds out that there may just be something just a *wee* bit off with the Brit. </p><p>And by just a wee bit, Arthur meant a lot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Homewrecker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re-uploaded this as my boyfriend beta-ed it :)

Disclaimer + Author’s Notes: 

Well obviously, I do not own the characters and anything related to Inception. They belong to Christopher Nolan and whoever else made money from that brilliant movie.

_Italics are character’s thoughts in their head_

 

 

-0-0-

 

** 01: Homewrecker (by Marina and the Diamonds) **

 

_Deception and perfection are wonderful traits._

_One would breed love,_

_The other hate._

_You’ll find me in the lonely hearts._

_Under “I’m after a brand new start”_

 

-0-0-

 

The music was now blaring like someone was banging his head against the wall. Then again, he was in a gay club, so that was probably to be expected. When he entered the building earlier this evening, the music was thoroughly welcomed since he did come here to find some sort of escape from all the bullshit happening in his life.

 

Now it seemed like a nuisance or perhaps if you wanted specifics, an ex boyfriend that cheated on you.

 

This sort of environment was foreign to him. Normally, he’d rather be curled up on his couch watching some good old-fashioned television. Certainly not spend it barely conscious on a club’s bar counter like the town drunk.

 

“Hey mister! Fill me another shot!” the man hollered, louder than intended, at the half-naked, extremely sexy bartender a few feet away from him.

 

He got a judgmental glare from across the counter.

 

“What the hell man? I said fill her up!” the black haired man loudly demanded again at the bartender.

 

The bartender narrowed his eyes before approaching the surly man, stared him directly in the eyes and said, “Look man, I think you’ve got enough alcohol in your body for now. Take a breather. I’m not serving you anymore tonight.”

 

“What?” the man exclaimed hotly as he glared at the bartender who began picking up his empty shot glasses in front of him.

 

“Wait. Do you want more money? Here,” he said before fishing out a few bills from his pocket, not bothering to count just exactly how much. Still, the point was made and the bartender just looked at him.

 

“Okay there,” he urged the bartender, gesturing wildly with his fingers the amount of bills layered in front of both of them. “See? I’ll pay you double the price. Just fucking give me more tequila.”

 

The handsome bartender just shook his head, “Listen, I told you I ain’t serving you anymore alcohol. So why don’t you go home and rest before you start making a scene here that you’ll definitely regret tomorrow.”

 

“Are you threatening me?” he replied hotly, obviously not liking that his bribery didn’t work one bit.

 

“Just some friendly advice,” the bartender said with a smile as he continued taking away his shot glasses from him. The man just scowled in return earning a chuckle from his adversary.

 

“Besides,” the bartender continued, “these bills,” he gestured at the cash, “ain’t even enough to give you a glass of Coke alone.” And with that, the bartender turned around to attend to the empty glasses.

 

The man just stared at the back of the bartender, unsure exactly what to do at this point. He probably sure he was reeking of desperation, but in a situation like this, being drunk was the only thing that would numb the pain he was feeling inside.

 

“Fine. I’ll pay you triple!” he said a little quieter than his previous outburst, but still was pretty loud nonetheless.

 

“No.”

 

“I’ll suck your dick.”

 

“No.”

 

“I’ll let you fuck me!”

 

“Go home,” the bartender said with finality without even turning around as he continued working.

 

The man’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fuck,” he murmured as he closed his eyes as he tried to block out the headache that he felt coming.

 

From the corner of his eye, he could see a couple of guys staring at him while clutching their drinks. They’re probably judging him from his little conversation with the bartender. He already knew what they were thinking about. They were probably thinking just how much of a slut he is. Most likely even pitying him from the fact that he offered to have sex with the bartender for a few more drinks.

 

And if there’s one thing Arthur Hansen hated most in the world, it was pity.

 

“What the hell are you looking at?” he snarled at them as he aggressively turned his body towards them. The group of guys stared at him for a few more seconds, before dispersing into the crowd, still clutching their drinks with them.

 

Arthur was about to make a new snide comment when a sudden pain in the head shot through him. _Great_ , he thought _, haven’t even napped and I’m already getting a fucking hangover_.

 

Of course, he really shouldn’t be surprised given he drank more than ten shots of tequila and god knows what else. He let out an undecipherable groan when another wave of pain hit him. This time so intense he actually had to clutch his head.

 

_I am not looking forward to waking up tomorrow… And it’s Ari’s engagement party too. Just great. Just fucking great._

 

The third wave of pain signaled Arthur that it, _finally_ , was time to leave the bar and head straight home.

 

Arthur raised his head slowly and surveyed his surroundings, trying to find the location of the exit. All he saw, however, were literally dozens of bodies all grinding up one another. That and fuel in all the alcohol he ingested, it was understandable for him not to find it.

 

_Great. I don’t even know where the fucking exit is. How the fuck am I supposed to go home now?_

 

“Uhh, excuse me,” he said back to the bartender.

 

“Look man, I’m going to start ignoring you right now so you can get up and leave. I’m not serving you anymore,” the bartender growled with annoyance, not even bothering to turn around to face Arthur.

 

The black haired drunk was about to explain the situation he was in, but the bartender beat him to the punch by swiftly making his way towards the other end of the bar, ignoring Arthur completely.

 

Arthur gave out a huff of annoyance at the bartender’s attitude. _Good job Arthur. Didn’t you graduate at the top of your class? How on earth did you fall down from grace oh so quickly? I swear, you-_

 

The black haired man stopped ranting in his head when he felt someone staring at him. From the corner of his eye, he can tell the person two or three seats away from him was indeed staring. Slowly, he turned his head.

 

A pair of green eyes was staring at him. Arthur momentarily lost his breath because the guy staring at him was one of the most handsome specimens he had ever laid eyes on. The guy before him was an absolute hunk - green eyes staring back at him with the utmost lust. His cropped brown hair perfectly framed his rugged face. His lips were moist from the beer he was sipping on and was still sipping on. And his body, well let’s just say he had the body of a Greek statue. Not that he was naked, no. Arthur could see from the black v-neck and jeans this guy was wearing, his muscles were practically outlined to perfection.

 

_And hello, are those fucking tattoos I see peeking out from underneath that shirt?_

 

“Uh, can I help you?” Arthur nervously asked the sex-on-legs before him. He gave a small, nervous swallow as the guy nonchalantly sipped his beer, while he stared at Arthur.

 

And with that, he continued referring to that guy as sex-on-legs.

 

“You looking for the exit?” sex-on-legs asked with an accent, still sipping that bottle of beer he was dangling in his right hand.

 

Arthur slowly gave a nervous swallow before answering a very timid, “Ye…yes.” And cue another throbbing surge of pain in the head.

 

_Holy shit. This guy’s British!_

 

“It’s right over there,” sex-on-legs said as he gestured his beer bottle behind Arthur’s body.

 

“Really?” Arthur said in surprise as he quickly turned his head to the other direction only to greet him with another wave of pain. _Ow, okay, note to self, turn head veeery slowly next time._ Sure enough, in the very back of the club, he could see the EXIT sign illuminated in green and white. _Oh praise the lord._

 

Arthur slowly turned his head back to sex-on-legs to thank him, “Hey thanks man, I really appre- Whaat the hell?!” he shouted in surprise when he found his face literally just a few inches away from another. Sex-on-legs was suddenly sitting right next to him. Well damn, Arthur nearly fell out of his chair from the surprise.

 

Sex-on-legs continued taking sips of his beer while still studying Arthur. His beautiful, green eyes were wandering over Arthur’s body, earning a blush from the black haired man.

 

“Uhh…” Arthur trailed off, clueless on how to go about this. _Damn. This guy is making the pain intensify._

 

“Fuck, you’re hot,” sex-on-legs said bluntly.

 

“Huh?” Arthur was sure he heard it correctly, but somehow he couldn’t fully register that this sexy being found him attractive.

 

“I said you’re fucking hot, darling,” sex-on-legs said.

 

“Uhh, thanks?” Arthur replied with a blush, choosing to ignore that horrendous pet name sex-on-legs gave him.

 

“So, wanna fuck?”

 

“What?” Arthur said, not really believing what came out of sex-on-legs’ mouth. He stared at the handsome man who put down his beer and leered at him.

 

“Darling, I said if you want to get out of here and fuck.”

 

Arthur blushed again before entering into another silent stupor. He wasn’t really very accustomed to being asked straight away for sex. He was a prude, or rather, old fashioned to put it into better terms. He wasn’t the kind of guy who would periodically parade himself on Grindr and ask if they want to have some substandard 15-minute sexual intercourse that probably wouldn’t be even fun or exciting. But then again, he did just offer the bartender of it for some alcohol, so that entire line of reasoning was thrown out the window.

 

“We don’t even know each other,” Arthur said after a long period of silence. He didn’t answer sex-on-legs’ question directly because in all honesty, every person would be dying to have sex with the man directly in front of him.

 

But no, somehow Arthur’s morals came fighting back from the headache.

 

Sex-on-legs just rolled his eyes, thinking how unlucky it was that out of all the guys he wanted to fuck in this dumb club, it turned out to be _that_ guy who seemed to constantly battle his desires of the flesh with his morals. That didn’t deter him though. In fact, he was up for a little bit of breaking-this-guy’s-moral-code game.

 

“Eames,” sex-on-legs said.

 

“Huh?” Arthur looked at him weirdly, obviously not picking that up.

 

“My name is Eames, darling,” sex-on-legs repeated, giving Arthur the most charming smile he could muster up.

 

That seemed to do the trick as Arthur nearly melted from his bar stool.

 

 “Okay, so I pretty much introduced myself, what’s your name, _darling_?” Eames purred as he prodded Arthur’s chest with a finger.

 

“A… Arthur… Arthur Hansen,” he answered as he glanced at Eames’ finger still poking at his chest.

 

 “Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, what do you say we head back to your place darling and get to know each other a little bit better?” Eames asked as he purposely let his hand fall down onto Arthur’s thighs.

 

Arthur was staring at Eames’ hand; pretty sure Eames could see Arthur’s hardening cock in his jeans. “Su… sure. Let’s go back to my place.”

 

And there you go.

 

Arthur’s horniness took over completely.

 

_-_

 

“Fu… uck,” Arthur groaned as he broke off the kiss with Eames.

 

Eames gave a grin as he started stroking Arthur’s _really_ hard cock through his jeans. “Like that, darling?” Eames asked with one hell of a cocky smile.

 

“Yeah,” Arthur groaned as he bit his lip in response. He never thought he’d be spending the night having sex, yet here he was, trapped between Eames and the front door of his apartment.

 

Eames carefully licked Arthur’s neck from the nape up to his ear and whispered, “Good. Cause I’m really looking forward to fucking you tonight.”

 

Arthur didn’t know how it was possible, but after hearing that from Eames, he got even harder.

 

Eames suddenly grabbed Arthur by his undershirt, shoved him away from the door and pretty much ripped the front of the shirt completely. Eames took a moment to look at Arthur’s body. He thought the shorter man in front of him was hot, boy was he wrong. Arthur was _fucking_ hot. He had well-defined arms and chest, and surprisingly a well prominent six pack that was not noticeable earlier this evening. Eames didn’t know why Arthur didn’t show off his body in the club. He would surely be flanked by dozens of guys for sure. But no, Arthur was dressed modestly earlier this evening. And that irritated Eames slightly.

 

_No bloody way a bloke this hot should be hiding his fucking body!_

 

“Take off everything!” Eames barked at the other man as he, himself, started stripping off.

 

In around thirty seconds, Arthur was completely naked in front of Eames, his hands desperately trying to hide the massive boner he was sporting. Not that he was embarrassed to show Eames his dick, he was pretty well endowed in that department for your information; however, Arthur was always self-conscious about his body whenever he was around people he barely knew.

And Eames was certainly fell in that category.

 

Arthur just stared at Eames who was taking off his clothes in a jiff as well. As soon as Eames tossed his top, Arthur’s eyes widened at the sight of his body. His arms were massive! Arthur could see the veins traveling down Eames’ arms. That was a sign that this guy took working out seriously. His chest was extremely well defined. And his eight pack? Well, that was perfection. But what caught him the most was that tattoo on his arm.

 

The ogling didn’t stop there though.

 

As soon as Eames chucked off his jeans and underwear, Arthur’s eyes nearly popped out of its sockets. His legs looked sturdy and strong, considering it reminded Arthur of tree trunks. And his erect cock jutting out of well-trimmed pubes made Arthur subconsciously approach Eames, kneel down and suck it.

 

“Ye… yeah,” Eames groaned as he ran his fingers through Arthur’s black hair. “Just like that, love. Bloody fucking swallow the entire thing!”

 

For some reason, that turned Arthur on and only encouraged him to suck with even more fervor. Soon, Eames’ dick was slick with saliva as Arthur continued bobbing up and down on it.

 

“Fuck.. yeah.. You like that dick, Arthur? Yeah, you love that dick down your throat don’t you love?” Eames growled as he held Arthur’s head steady and started fucking Arthur’s mouth with an unexpected intensity.

 

“Take. It. All. You. Motherfucker. Swallow. My. Fucking. Dick.” Eames said as he thrust in Arthur’s mouth as he punctuated the words one by one.

 

Arthur was gagging from the raw intensity Eames was displaying. Even though he had slight tears in his eyes, Arthur’s cock was still so fucking hard. He was stroking it all the while sucking on Eames’ dick and he was making a quite a mess on the floor as there lay a small amount of his precum.

 

Eames hauled Arthur up to his feet and savagely kissed him, his tongue invading his mouth. The blonde held on to Arthur’s face as they continued dueling inside each other’s mouth. Arthur moaned in Eames’ mouth as he tried to hold himself steady by clutching on Eames’ massive arms. He could feel their cocks brush up against each other sending electricity through his body.

 

Eames pulled away from the kiss and stared at Arthur, lust filled in both of their eyes. “I’m gonna fuck you now,” Eames said as he shoved Arthur onto the nearby dining table. Honestly, both of them were way too horny to consider fucking in the bedroom.

 

“Lie down on the fucking table!” Eames ordered Arthur as he crouched down at his jeans, retrieved a condom and some travel sized lube. As soon as he turned around, he found Arthur lying down on the dining table, his legs up in the air, and his hands clutching his ass cheeks as he gloriously showed Eames his asshole.

 

“Oh love, your ass is so fucking hot!” Eames purred as he strode towards the dining table. He bent down and plunged his tongue inside Arthur’s ass.

 

“Ho.. Holy shit!!” Arthur cried out in ecstasy, his back arching oh so slightly from the tongue invading his asshole. He didn’t expect the blonde to go dive in like that. Eames’ tongue was working magic down there and all Arthur could do was moan like a bitch in heat.

 

A few minutes later, Eames stopped rimming him and stood up. He ripped the condom from out of its wrapper and put it over his cock. The brunette then smeared the entire sachet of lube onto his dick. He couldn’t really afford to insert any finger inside Arthur any longer. He needed his ass _now_. And damn, that was what he’s getting.

 

Even though he didn’t warm Arthur’s ass with any preparation, Eames made it a point to enter slowly so the man could get used to his big dick. He wasn’t _that_ heartless.

 

“You okay, love?” Eames said softly as he noticed Arthur shut his eyes, no doubt from the pain. His cock was barely even half inside before Arthur’s ass when he stopped as soon as he noticed that Arthur’s dick got softer.

 

“Yeah… I’m fine,” Arthur panted as he brought his right hand to his forehead. “Stay still for a few seconds before you push in. Your dick is fucking big!”

 

Eames just chuckled and did just that. He waited for Arthur to get comfortable to his size all the while caressing Arthur’s thigh in hopes of keeping the man still turned on and horny.

 

“Okay, go push again,” Arthur whispered as his breathing slowly returned to normal.

 

Eames then slowly pushed his cock all the way until his pubes rested against Arthur’s ass.

 

“Fuuuck, that feels gooood!” Arthur groaned in pleasure.

 

Eames leaned forward, cupped Arthur’s head with his arms and whispered in his ear, “Wonderful darling because I’m going to start fucking you like the there’s no tomorrow.” And as soon as he said that, he withdrew his cock until only the head remained before slamming back inside.

 

“Shiitt!!!” Arthur cried out, his back arching out once again.

 

“You like that love?” Eames whispered as he repeated the motion once again. “You like my cock slamming into you?”

 

“Fuckkk yes!” Arthur shouted, his legs wrapping around Eames waist in response. He wrapped his arms around Eames’ neck and said, “Yeah… Fuck me! Fuck me hard!”

 

“Oh darling, I will,” Eames said into Arthur’s ear before biting his neck and started hammering Arthur with more intensity than before.

 

“Shi...ii..iittt!” Arthur cried out in between pants, his arms grasping onto Eames’ back like it was his lifeline.

 

“Yeahhh… Cry out for me love!” Eames shouted.

 

“Fuck me harder! Come on! Harder!!!”

 

“Come on! Beg for it!” Eames grunted as he continued fucking Arthur with reckless abandon.

 

“Harder please! I need your cock so fucking bad! Shit! There! Do that again! Oh fu..uuu…u…cckkkkk!” Arthur cried out in pleasure once Eames started hitting his prostrate.

 

“Ride that fucking cock love!!!” Eames shouted as he bit down on Arthur’s neck once again.

 

By this time, Arthur’s words were reduced to nothing more than indecipherable grunts and moans as the fucking continued. The dining table was rocking badly from the ferocity of Eames’ thrust with the sound of flesh hitting flesh and grunts filling the room.

 

After a while, Arthur couldn’t hold back anymore. “Oh fuck Eames! I’m gonna fucking cum!” And he started jacking off his cock with so much speed.

 

Eames leaned back up so he could get a view of Arthur cumming on his own stomach. “Yeah, cum for me darling! Shoot that motherfucking load!!” he shouted.

 

Arthur curled up his feet and screamed as he came. Hard. The first few shots shooting landed on his face. The sight of Arthur being covered in cum triggered Eames’ impending release.

 

“Oh shit! I’m gonna cum! Shit!” Eames said as he pulled his cock from Arthur’s ass, threw away the condom and started stroking it furiously.

 

Arthur got up from the dining table and got down on his knees and took the head of Eames’ cock in his mouth. He so badly wanted to taste this perfect specimen.

 

As soon as Arthur’s lips found its way onto his cock, Eames started to cum. “Hooolllly fuuu...uuuu...ckkk!” And Arthur swallowed every little spurt of semen.

 

“Holy fuck!” Eames said as he looked down at Arthur who was giving him a huge grin. Eames roughly pulled Arthur up and kissed him again, tasting himself on Arthur’s tongue.

 

“Fuck darling. That was hot! Now where’s the bloody shower?” Eames asked after breaking off the kiss.

 

-

 

“Arthur, you need to get up,” a voice called out behind him, trying to wake the little devil up.

 

Arthur wasn’t having any of it. He merely groaned with his head under his pillow, trying to calm the ache pounding in his head. He was planning on sleeping the pain away, but _someone_ had other ideas.

 

“Arthur, will you please get up?” the same voice said, frustration evident in the tone. The unknown presence grabbed Arthur’s leg and started shaking it in hopes of making him get out of bed.

 

“Stop that Eames!” Arthur shouted as he hugged his pillow even tighter.

 

He didn’t expect the reply to be, “Who the fuck is Eames?”

 

_What the hell?_ Arthur thought. _Who the fuck is bothering me?!_ He peeked from underneath his pillow and found a tall blonde at his foot still shaking his leg. Arthur groaned. Of course, the only other person besides himself that can open his apartment was Dom, his best friend since high school. He gave Dom a spare key in case of emergencies. Somehow, underneath the covers of the bed sheets and pillow, Arthur was now regretting that decision.

 

Arthur also glanced around the bed, taking into account that Eames was gone. Not that it was a surprise to him though.

 

Dom rolled his blue eyes as he jostled Arthur’s foot again. “Arthur, Ari’s engagement party is today. Did you forget about that while you were drinking like an alcoholic last night?”

 

_Oh shit._ Arthur thought. How could he forget that? Ari’s engagement party was today. She was making everyone meet her fiancé for the first time since he practically lived at the other side of the United States. Truth be told, he was excited to meet the future husband of his favorite co-worker. He even bought a new outfit for this special occasion. Unfortunately for Arthur, certain events in his personal life slightly derailed him from focusing at the celebration.

 

“What time is it anyways?” Arthur groaned, his head still underneath his pillow.

 

“It’s 10:30 in the morning Arthur,” his best friend answered bluntly.

 

“WHAT?!” Arthur shouted in surprise as he suddenly bolted upright from underneath the covers, which probably wasn’t such a good idea since a massive pain greeted him through his head.

 

“Jesus Christ Arthur, you look like shit,” Dom mentioned as he cocked his head to the side. Dom could see Arthur’s eyes were bloodshot red and he had massive eye bags underneath his eyes. “What the hell happened to you last night? And who the fuck is Eames?”

 

Arthur just waved a hand, dismissing Dom’s question as he hastily retreated towards the kitchen for an aspirin. His blonde friend begrudgingly followed the shorter man.

 

“Are you sure it’s already 10:30?” Arthur asked as he grabbed a painkiller from one of the medicines on his counter.

 

“Yes,” Dom replied with an eye roll.

 

“Dammit! Fucking overslept!” Arthur said after downing the painkiller with a glass of water. He turned around to face his friend and couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow.

 

“Really, Dom? We’re going to a party, an engagement party, and you’re wearing that?” Arthur asked out of wonder, only realizing what his friend was actually wearing.

 

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Dom asked as he gestured to the clothes on him. Arthur just stared at the blonde man in front of him. He was wearing a very faded denim top over some slacks along with some loafers. It didn’t actually look bad considering that Dom had that sort of swimmer’s body that managed to fit the clothes perfectly. It’s just that it wasn’t really appropriate for a somewhat formal engagement party.

 

“Well, for one thing, you look like you’re going to the mall,” Arthur answered bluntly.

 

“Arthur, if I were going to the mall, I’d be wearing nothing but a tank top, some shorts and flip flops. This,” Dom gestured at his ensemble, “is me dressing up.”

 

“We’re going to the country club. I don’t think they’ll let you in wearing something that casual.”

 

“Oh Arthur, you’d be glad to know that the club manager owes me a few things and I think he’d let me dressing up like this slide by,” Dom said with a wink as he sat down in one of Arthur’s dining chairs.

 

Arthur just rolled his eyes, “You and your secrets.”

 

“Spoilsport,” Dom replied as he stuck his tongue at Arthur before giving him a huge smile.

 

“Anyways, what are you wearing?” Dom asked as he watched Arthur proceed back to his bedroom to retrieve his clothes.  

 

“Well I’m going to be wearing a suit because unlike someone, I know the meaning of a semi-formal event,” the shorter man replied.

 

“I don’t understand you and your fascination with suits, Arthur!” Dom replied playfully earning a small chuckle from his BFF. “Anyways, what the hell happened to you last night? You called me in the middle of the evening, but I couldn’t really hear because the background was waaaay too loud.”

 

“Oh, just drowning my sorrows out,” Arthur nonchalantly replied from inside the bedroom. He grabbed the clothes he prepared inside his closet and went back outside to go to his bathroom.

 

“Did you go clubbing??” Dom asked, his eyes full of mischief. Ever since they were rebellious teenagers, he never pegged Arthur as a party person. In fact, he had pegged Arthur as a stick-in-the-mud. So the prospect of Arthur willingly going to a club on his own was new and intriguing.

 

“Yeah, I did. Basically drank my body weight in vodka and tequila last night,” Arthur said with a shake of his head. _And waking up with a fucking headache was part of that._ _Remind myself never to do that again._

 

Dom laughed at Arthur’s discomfort over the whole clubbing thing. Secretly, he was sort of glad that Arthur got a chance to let out the demons he had been holding in the last couple of days - even though he was suffering a major hangover from it.

 

“So, what else did you do? Did you hook with some random hot guy as well? Did his name happen to be Eames, by any chance?” Dom joked with a laugh as he wiggled his eyebrows.

 

Arthur just stared at the blonde, his discomfort and embarrassment growing by the minute. He didn’t really know how to answer this question for if Dom knew that he indeed slept with someone, he’d need to know every little sordid detail. Unfortunately for Arthur, his silence was already an answer as Dom’s eyes widened in surprise.

 

“Aha! I knew it!” Dom shouted in triumph.

 

Arthur just glared at him with intensified hatred.

 

“Well don’t just stand there, talk already!” Dom said impatiently.

 

“Yes, hooked up last night. His name was Eames and he’s British and he was pretty much sex on legs,” Arthur started as he stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out how to describe sex-on-legs in full detail.

 

Dom just whistled as he leaned more across the dining table, trying to move closer to Arthur so he could understand everything better.

 

“He had a fucking eight-pack Dom,” Arthur said with a naughty smile.

 

“Damn!”

 

“Did I mention that he was British?”

 

“You did already.”

 

“We had a great time on that dining table you’re leaning on.”

 

“What? You did it here? Ewww!” Dom said with disgust as he stood up and backed away from the dining table. Arthur just laughed over his friend’s reaction.

 

“Arthur, if you got cum on my denim top, I will never forgive you!” Dom angrily said as he surveyed his top if there were any stains on it.

 

“I’m pretty sure any remains of cum would have dried up by now Dom,” Arthur laughed, to which he earned a scowl from the blonde.

 

“Uhhh… Stop. I’m painting a mental picture. Look, you’re my best friend and all, but I really don’t want to hear about your sex life in detail considering I’m straight. Anyways, where is he?”

 

“I don’t know,” Arthur shrugged. “Woke up this morning to find you on my bed, instead of him.”

 

“Did you get his number at least?”

 

“Didn’t get a chance to,” Arthur shrugged.

 

“Oh Arthur,” Dom said with a sad frown. He knew Arthur for a long time and he could pretty much tell when something is bothering the black haired man really badly.

 

“Don’t wanna really talk about it. Was looking for a distraction last night and well, Eames was the perfect one indeed. And besides, after what happened recently, I’m not really ready to delve into another relationship right now,” Arthur said.

 

Dom frowned and said, “Okay, first of all, what happened with Robert was not your fault. He cheated on you, so you have no one to blame but that little slut. As for this Eames guy, well if we see him on the street, I’ll be happy to punch the living daylights out of him for you if we see him. The nerve of him not giving you his number!”

 

Arthur just smiled in response. “You don’t have to Dom… really. Like I said, I wasn’t looking for anything serious.”

 

“Oh shut up! You’re my best friend and I’ll be damned if someone treated you like some cheap one night stand! Now why don’t you go the bathroom, bathe and change? We only have ten minutes left until the party officially starts.”

 

-

 

“I hate this party,” Arthur whispered to himself as he sipped his remaining champagne.

 

He and Dom were busy sulking off in some corner in this illustrious function room in the club. Or rather, Arthur was doing all the sulking; Dom was too busy mingling with the other guests in the near vicinity.

 

Ever since arriving, Arthur was not in the best of moods and it showed on his face and in his body movements. Dom tried bringing him into small conversations with the other guests and Arthur tried to put on his best fake smile and pretend to be interested in the conversation at hand. But the longer the conversations go, Arthur’s smile slowly turned into an unmistakable frown. Dom thought it would be best if the shorter man would just sulk off in some corner by himself than force him to mingle with people. In his current state, Arthur’s irritability may cause him to snap and Dom thought this probably wouldn’t be a good idea to make a scene.

 

So here he was, leaning against the expensive wooden wall behind him, hand still clutching on to his champagne glass, which was now empty.

 

“Oh damn, I need another one,” Arthur said to no one in particular as he placed his empty glass on top of the stone fireplace and reached out for another as a waiter passed by.

 

“Oh no. You are not drinking anymore,” Dom said as he grabbed the newly filled champagne glass Arthur was holding and placed it back on the waiter’s tray.

 

“What the hell Dom?” Arthur hissed at his best friend, not believing why he wasn’t allowed to drink. “Would you please explain to me why you are preventing me from achieving happiness in this dull party?” he asked, eyes ablaze with fury.

 

“Okay, first of all, you just got drunk last night and you still have the remnants of a hangover. Second of all, you might get drunk if you overindulge and I’d rather not have you go apeshit in this party. Third of all, you just got drunk last night,” Dom replied.

 

“Ugh. Whatever, man!” Arthur huffed as he crossed his arms against his chest in annoyance.

 

“The couple’s quite a bit late, huh?” Dom asked as he glanced at his watch.

 

Arthur just scoffed in response.

 

“Why are you in such a prissy mood anyways? I thought you were looking forward to this event for weeks,” Dom asked as he stood beside Arthur and leaned back against the wall, both of them staring at the crowd of people waiting for the couple to arrive. “I mean prissier than usual… cause you’re always prissy,” he added.

 

“Look at me! My eyes are still red, my eye bags won’t go away, my hair is out of place and I found another guy who had the exact same shoes as me! My excitement for this party has completely disappeared through the window,” Arthur replied angrily. “And what do you mean always prissy?”

 

Dom looked at Arthur for a few seconds before bursting into a small fit of laughter. Dom just glared at him.

 

“What the hell is so funny?” Arthur asked through gritted teeth and Dom really believed that Dom laughed even harder after he asked.

 

“Well,” Dom said finally calming down, “your predicament right now is very reminiscent of Kristen Wiig’s character in Bridesmaids.”

 

Arthur’s eyes widened at the comparison before giving an appalled look. “I am not Annie!” Arthur said as he punched Dom’s shoulder in amusement.

 

“You are to! I can’t wait until you find out your arch nemesis in this party,” Dom said with a chuckle.

 

“Honestly, I hope I find my Rose Byrne in this part. Then, maybe, the party will be a lot more fun,” Arthur snickered.

 

“Anyway, have you seen what Ari’s fiancé looks like?” Dom asked with curiosity. “What’s his name again?”

 

“His name is Theodore E. Cooper and I actually haven’t seen him yet. I tried investigating him through the Internet, but I came up empty handed,” Arthur explained then looked at Dom who had a peculiar expression on his face.

 

“What?” he asked the blonde guy.

 

“Investigating?” Dom asked, amused.

 

“Yes, investigating!” Arthur said before he added, “Because stalking is such a harsh word.”

 

He earned himself an eye roll from the blonde.

 

“And you came up absolutely empty handed?” Dom asked, now bewildered.

 

Ever since high school, Arthur had the ability, or a knack really, to find information on anyone. And when Dom meant anyone, he literally meant anyone. Just give Arthur a laptop and an hour and he’d be able to produce the information you needed with no hitch. So, imagine his surprise, when he found out his best friend decided to take up architecture in college when he could have been a real talent in the government with his unique “skills”.  

 

Today was the first time Arthur managed to come up empty handed from his “investigating”, which Dom admits is slightly unsettling.

 

“Dom, the guy doesn’t even have Facebook! Who on earth these days doesn’t have a frickin’ Facebook?” Arthur replied testily.

 

“Well, we’ll just have to wait and find out, now won’t we?” Dom answered.

 

And Arthur couldn’t wait any longer. He was anxious in seeing what his co-worker’s fiancé will look like. Ariadne, or Ari as he likes to call her, gushes about her fiancé to him all the time, but she has actually never shown him a photo of him, which Arthur found extremely odd. Normally, girls who were engaged would fawn over every little thing and would show off her fiancé to whoever would listen, but not Ari. Then again, Ari wasn’t really your typical girl.

 

“I bet you ten bucks he is ugly,” Dom whispered down at Arthur with a glint in his eye.

 

“Oh my god. I am not going to bet on that. You’re evil!” Arthur said aghast. “However, if you make it five dollars and you got yourself a deal!” he added.

 

“Deal,” Dom said with a mischievous smile.

 

“Great! Let’s shake on it to make it official!” Arthur said as he grabbed Dom’s hand and shook it with much gusto.

 

No sooner had they shaken their hands, a large applause rang out from the foyer.

 

“Oh good. Looks like the couple is here!” Dom said, excited as he focused his attention to the entrance.

 

Arthur kept his watch at the foyer as he waited with anticipation at the sight of Ari and her fiancé. He could see people were crowding near the foyer in hopes of getting a first look at the couple. A few minutes later, the room’s shouts and claps were getting louder as he saw a very short, but smiling, petite brunette step through the arched doorway. She was holding hands with someone, but Arthur couldn’t really see him from this angle. He waited for Ari to take a few more steps into the room causing her fiancé to enter in view. She was holding hands with a smiling, handsome man.

 

Arthur held a gasp. The guy was built like a tank. Those green eyes and plush lips all coming back to him.

 

_Eames._

 

“You know, Dom,” Arthur started, his mind thoroughly trying to process this scene as he glanced at his best friend, “you might want to get your fist ready.”

 

 

-0-0-

 

_Instead of love and trust and laughter_

_What you get is happy never after_

_But deep down, all you want is love,_

_The pure kind, we all dream of._

_But we cannot escape the past,_

_So you and I will never last._

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holler if you liked it!


	2. Attracting Flies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re-uploaded since my boyfriend beta-ed it :)

_Whole sentences in italics are a character’s thoughts in his/her head._

 

 

-0-0-

 

** 02: Attracting Flies (AlunaGeorge) **

 

_Why you here again,_

_Hold on a minute, let me check this out,_

_Your invitation’s a fake, must be from a ticket tout_

 

-0-0-

 

“Get my fist ready for what?” Dom asked Arthur, confused.

 

Arthur just glared at his best friend for being daft and not being able to pick up off from what he just said. I mean, _really._

 

“You said that you would punch Eames if you see him, remember?” Arthur explained, his hands across his chest. He was patiently waiting for Dom to eventually figure everything out.

 

“Yes, I specifically remember saying that,” Dom said, before plucking a glass of champagne from one of the passing waiters.

 

“Wait a fucking minute, he’s here?” he asked Arthur as he sipped from the tall glass.

 

“Unfortunately he is. And he’s got his arms draped over Ari’s shoulder,” Arthur calmly explained as he glanced at Ari and Eames greeting their guests near the entrance of the room. He noted that Eames looked really good in that white polo, gray slacks, and gray blazer combo.

 

Never in his wildest dreams (or nightmares) did he imagine that his friend would get married with someone he had just slept with last night.

 

Then again, he never expected Dom to choke on champagne from that realization either.

 

Yet here he was, in the same room with his one night fling and fiancé in their engagement party and his best friend gurgling out champagne back into his glass from this revelation.

 

“What… did… you… fucking… say?” Dom hoarsely asked Arthur, slow and steady as he tried getting his breath back.

 

“The guy I slept with last night was Ari’s fiancé!” Arthur whispered.

 

Dom just looked at him like he was crazy, which was a look he was accustomed to giving Arthur. Seeing Arthur’s unflinching gaze back at him told that he was, sad to say, telling the truth.

 

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Dom asked Arthur once again, still not processing the entire situation… or rather, refusing to process the situation at all.

 

“I’m telling you Dom, I am not lying. You know me! Even plastered, I still have a talent on remembering very specific details. And believe me, I’d remember Eames for sure. No doubt about it,” Arthur said.

 

Dom just cocked his head in agreement. His best friend did have a rather spectacular memory regardless of whether Arthur was sober and drunk.

 

“Okay, so how are we going to deal with this?” Dom whispered.

 

“Just let me handle this, okay? I’m going to catch that weasel and his dumb British accent. Ssshh, act normal, they’re coming!” Arthur whispered to Dom before turning around to face a rather beaming Ari.

 

“Arthur! Dom! I’m so glad you’re here!” Ari smiled at them, before engulfing both of them in tight hugs. Arthur could feel the warmth and joy of his friend as he hugged her back, never once taking his eyes off Eames who just gave a jovial and aloof smile.

 

_Bastard. What’s he smiling about? Doesn’t he realize the jig is up?_ Arthur mused.

 

“Guys, I’d like you to meet Theodore Cooper, my lovely fiancé,” Ari beamed as she slightly pushed her fiancé upfront.

 

“Please, just call me Ted. It’s nice to meet you both. Ari’s told me so much about you guys, especially you Arthur - you being her favorite coworker and all,” her fiancé said as he extended his hand to Arthur for a handshake.

 

Arthur made no move to shake his hand though. He was still stuck on the fact that Eames talked to him in an American accent.

 

“The pleasure is all ours Ted,” Dom said as he reached out and shook Ted’s hand after giving Arthur a rather knowing look.

 

“Forgive Arthur, he’s just a bit drunk that’s all,” he said to Ted, who just smiled back at him.

 

That snide comment snapped Arthur out of whatever state of shock he was in and replied coolly, “I am not drunk! If there’s anyone who’s drunk, it’d be you Dom with your champagne stain down your shirt and all.”

 

Ted bellowed at that, seemingly finding this exchange rather amusing. Of course, this made Arthur give him a rather deadly glare and was about to give a rather rude comment when he felt Dom kicking him on the shins.

 

Arthur turned his glare towards Dom who clearly was ignoring him and was simply staring straight ahead. Arthur followed his gaze and saw Ari giving him a rather sinister glare herself. Of course, Ted was oblivious to the entire thing as he was still laughing his ass off.

 

“Come on Ted, I still need to introduce you to a few more other people,” Ari said, never taking her eyes off Arthur as she jostled Ted away from the two.

 

“Oh sure. Sorry, I got a bit carried away there. I’ll catch up with you guys later. I’m expecting a lot of embarrassing Ari stories when I get back,” Ted said after recovering from all that laughing.

 

The burly man didn’t give the two any time to answer as he already bounced off towards the direction Ariadne was facing him. No doubt to mingle with more people he didn’t know.

 

“You and I will talk later,” Ari hissed at Arthur, before putting on a fake a smile as she went away towards Ted.

 

Arthur swallowed nervously. He only caught Ari angry a few times since he’d known her, and all that time, never had it been directed at him. He was there to witness some of them and he was rather taken aback at the temper that little brunette could display. He wasn’t rather looking forward to meeting that temper face to face.

 

“Boy, she was pissed,” Arthur heard Dom say beside him.

 

Arthur didn’t say anything back. He merely scowled.

 

“You’d better watch out Arthur,” Dom added.

 

“Oh shut up Dom,” Arthur said flatly as he watched Ari and Ted mingle with more guests.

 

“Are you sure you’re not drunk Arthur?”

 

“Dom, I said I wasn’t.”

 

“Really? Because I distinctively remember you saying this Eames of yours had a British accent. And that this Eames of yours was actually Ari’s fiancé.”

 

Arthur couldn’t help but grit his teeth. He knew exactly where this was going.

 

“Arthur, the guy had a perfect American accent. Are you absolutely you’re not dru-”

 

“Dom, I’m not. I swear,” Arthur cut him off. He looked briefly at Dom seriously to reinforce his point. His best friend raised his hands as a gesture of defeat.

 

“Okay you’re not drunk. What if you just made a mistake in recognizing Ted?” Dom asked.

 

“I’m not,” Arthur sighed, not knowing how to go about this. “Dom, I’m absolutely positive Eames and Ted are the same. I wouldn’t forget a face… ever. You know that right?”

 

Dom just frowned. He knew Arthur and his memory too well. If Arthur said Ted was Eames, then it was _possibly_ true. But just because Arthur was right doesn’t mean Dom had no further questions.

 

“Okay, how do you explain his accent then?” Dom asked, currently pursuing Arthur’s train of thought.

 

“I don’t know. That’s what threw me off.”

 

“Damn right. I didn’t detect anything remotely English about him… Oh god. Did that sound racist?”

 

Arthur rolled his eyes at Dom who had a smirk on his face.

 

“He could be an actor for all we know - a rather talented one at that. I mean he didn’t even react any differently when he saw me,” Arthur mused as he stared at Ari and Ted from across the room.

 

“Uhh… I don’t think so. I specifically recalled Ari telling me that he works under his grandfather’s investment company,” Dom said.

 

“He could be acting as a hobby?” Arthur asked.

 

Dom snickered, “Yeah, cause the grandson of a really wealthy tycoon has time to take acting lessons.”

 

“Wait… How can you know all of this? When I searched for him online, I found nothing. Where did you find this information? Why didn’t you tell me this?!” Arthur asked as he looked at Dom.

 

“Okay, first of all, pipe down. I got that information from Ari. I just remembered all of this now, okay? Besides, how was I to know you plan on stalking him online? Well that’s all the information she gave me anyway so I don’t know anymore,” Dom said.

 

Arthur just huffed. If he knew that he was the grandson of a wealthy tycoon, then his online stalking may have ended with more fruitful results.

 

“Anyway, let’s say that Ted really is this Eames-”

 

“He is. _Believe_ me,” Arthur replied, cutting off Dom once again.

 

“Don’t interrupt me Arthur,” Dom said, giving his best friend a really dark look. “If this Ted really _is_ Eames, what do you plan to do? You plan on telling Ari?”

 

That question caught Arthur by surprise.

 

“Just look at her Arthur,” Dom said as he gestured across the room, his hand still clutching a champagne glass.

 

Arthur looked at the direction Dom was pointing at. He could see Ari smiling and laughing with Ted as they talked to a few of Ari’s relatives.

 

“She looks happy Arthur,” Dom said grimly. “Just think things through okay? I don’t want you to do something that you will regret later on.”

 

-

 

“Arthur, will you stop staring at Ted? It’s getting really disturbing!”

 

“Dom, shut up. I’m looking for clues.”

 

“Really? Cause you look like you’re about to eat him up. Stop it. He’s going to get married.”

 

“Forgive me if I wanted some sort of specificity, Dom”

 

“Oh come off it Arthur.”

 

“I’m seeing if Ted does anything… Eames-y.”

 

“Eames-y? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

 

“Eames has a lot of tattoos. I bet he’s hiding all of them underneath that blazer.”

 

“Arthur, tell me you’re not thinking of asking him to take off his blazer just to see that.”

 

Arthur was to reply with witty comeback when he was interrupted by a rather loud voice beside him.

 

“Arthur, it’s wonderful to see you!”

 

Arthur looked at his right and found his boss, a rather intimidating Japanese man smiling at him and Dom.

 

“Ahh, good afternoon sir,” Arthur said, stiffening quite a bit. He was always tense around his employer, no doubt remembering all the times he was yelled at in his boss’ office.

 

“Oh please Arthur. Skip the formalities. We’re outside the office. I’m not going to yell at you. Loosen up,” Saito said, as he waved off Arthur’s stiffness.

 

Still, Arthur relented.

 

“O… okay?” Arthur said, confused. “Oh sorry, Dom this is my boss, Mister Saito. Uhh… sir, this is Dom, a good friend of mine.”

 

Dom went out and fervently shook Saito’s hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mister Saito. Arthur has said a lot of wonderful things about you and your work!”

 

“Oh, he did, didn’t he?” Saito said with a raised eyebrow as he glanced momentarily at Arthur.

 

Arthur did his best to put on his most genuine smile considering what Dom said was complete and utter bullshit. His boss wasn’t the nicest of all bosses. In fact, he’s gathered quite a reputation of being a major douchebag with a huge ego. He makes Miranda Priestley look like a saint. Arthur’s conversations about his boss with Dom were always filled with obscenities directed at the Japanese.

 

“Yes, in fact, he’s been gushing recently about how lucky he was to be a part of the team designing the new Browning tower down at main street. That high rise building is truly something else,” Dom said, with a smile.

 

“Oh?” Saito said, amused, his attention now fully directed towards Dom.

 

“Yes! The lobby’s play on colors was truly magnificent. I never thought that having the entire lobby in pure black would work considering that it is an office building, but it truly paid off. And the way you masterfully positioned all those cove lighting details were truly something else,” Dom explained, with enthusiasm.

 

Arthur rolled his eyes. Leave it to Dom and his uncontrollable ability to mooch up to people with power.

 

“Well,” Saito said as he exchanged glances between Dom and Arthur, “I’m glad someone appreciated all those hard work detailing.”

 

Arthur’s smile faltered slightly as he recognized that jab was directed at him. After all, he was the one who did all of those small details. He had to spend two straight days in the office just to finish those. And he hated every minute of it.

 

“Dom’s actually my classmate in college sir,” Arthur said, causing Saito to look at Dom with more piqued interest.

 

“Oh. Is that so? Tell me Dom, what else did you like from the building? I’m curious to hear the thoughts from someone with some architectural knowledge on it,” Saito said as he motioned Dom towards another side of the room.

 

_Dumb Saito and his fucking ego._

 

Arthur just stared at them walking away.

 

_What the hell was that about someone appreciating those fine little details? The nerve of that jackass! I’d like to see him try to do all of those himself!_

 

“You look like you could use a drink.”

 

Arthur suddenly turned around to find Ted/Eames staring at him holding out two glasses of champagne. He had a really goofy smile plastered on his really, rather adorable face.

 

“What makes you say that?” Arthur asked, still taking one of the glasses off Ted/Eames’ hand nonetheless.

 

“Well, I remember you saying that you weren’t drunk a while ago, so I thought I’d get you drunk myself,” Ted/Eames said with a smile.

 

Arthur couldn’t help but scoff as he took a sip, over how utterly corny the joke was. Ted/Eames smiled in return before taking a sip of his own before drifting into a rather painful, awkward silence.

 

“Where’s Ari?” Arthur asked, finally noticing that the woman was nowhere to be found.

 

“She took a small trip to the bathroom. All that champagne finally reached its limit,” Ted/Eames said with a small laugh.

 

That didn’t escape Arthur. He noticed how Ted/Eames specifically said bathroom and not the loo like most British say.

 

_Most British people do say the loo, right?_

 

“You don’t like me that much, do you?” Ted/Eames bluntly asked Arthur.

 

Arthur momentarily choked on his champagne, earning him a small chuckle from the burly man beside him.

 

“What makes you say that?” Arthur said as he stared at Ted/Eames’ face, desperately looking for answers on the man’s face.

 

Ted/Eames just shrugged. “Just a hunch. Although from the look of things, I feel like I’m sort of correct.”

 

“It’s not that I don’t like you,” Arthur started, before halting momentarily when Ted/Eames raised an eyebrow at him in amusement.

 

“Really. It’s just I’ve known Ari for a long time. I’m just naturally overprotected of her.”

 

“I understand,” Ted/Eames said.

 

“I mean, we were working on making construction documents one day and then she suddenly tells me she’s engaged the next. Heck, I didn’t even know she was dating anyone before that,” Arthur explained.

 

Ted/Eames chuckled at that, “Well, she does like to keep her life private.”

 

“So you’ve got to understand why I’m sort of standoffish. I mean, I don’t really know you that well… And here you are getting married to her,” Arthur added, staring straight at Ted/Eames’ eyes, trying to see through his soul.

 

If there’s one thing Arthur learned from his last relationship with Robert, is that people could lie with their faces, but their eyes always told the truth.

 

“Hey, I totally get where you’re coming from. I’ll be wary too if I were in your position. But if there were any consolation, I’d never, ever hurt Ari. Truthfully, I’ve just basically given up on finding someone who’d put up with me, but Ari’s been a sweetheart from the very beginning. Never thought she’d get past all of my issues, but she did and I’m extremely grateful for her,” Ted/Eames said, as he stared back at Arthur’s eyes.

 

Yes, Arthur’s learned a lot from reading people’s eyes. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, there was nothing but truth in the eyes of the guy in front of him. Arthur knew for a fact that this guy was earnest with his feelings towards Ari. He could still see the huge smile on Ted/Eames’ face when he was describing her, and there was nothing, absolutely nothing false about that.

 

And that confused Arthur even more.

 

Because Ted sure looked like Eames, but from Arthur’s short conversation with him, he was a totally different person than Eames. He now knew that for a fact.

 

_Could it be that he has a twin? I mean, that’s the only logical explanation left after all._

 

“You okay?” Ted asked him, a bit worried when the smaller brunette became silent.

 

“Sorry,” Arthur murmured, feeling a bit of shame creep through his body.

 

“What for?” Ted asked him, with an amused smile.

 

Arthur just chuckled as he took a sip out of his champagne glass. “Sorry, it’s just… do you have a brother?”

 

Arthur didn’t catch the narrowing of Ted’s eyes, because he was too busy enjoying the champagne.

 

“Why are you asking?” Ted asked, sipping from his glass as well.

 

“Sorry. It’s just… well you might think I’m sort of crazy, but you look a lot… And when I mean a lot, I really meant a lot, like this guy I just met last night. Not that you can be related to him whatsoever though,” Arthur explained, tongue finally loose from all the alcohol.

 

“Oh really?” Ted asked, his gaze totally fixated on Arthur now.

 

“Yeah, but like I said, it’s really impossible. I mean he was British and clearly, you are not,” Arthur chuckled.

 

His laughter died down; however, when he saw that Ted was looking at him with an expression that Arthur could not describe in words.

 

Arthur found that unsettling.

 

_Really_ unsettling.

 

He was about it when Ari interrupted them.

 

“Oh good! Ted here you are with Arthur!”

 

Both men looked at their side as Ari smiled at both them.

 

“Come on Ted, I need to borrow you for awhile. They’re getting ready for the toast and the speeches. Come on!” Ari said as she grabbed Ted and wheeled him away, but not before she leaned into Arthur and playfully whispered, “I’m glad you’re finally got that stick out of you ass and talked to him civilly. I’ll catch up with you later, Artie.”

 

Arthur just stared at her before she bounced off to the middle of the room, dragging Ted behind her… who, in turn, never let his gaze away from Arthur until he was finally out of sight.

 

Arthur shuddered. Ted’s unsettling gaze at him still seared through his mind. He feels like Ted somehow knows about Eames, which pretty much brought back with his feelings of suspicion on Ari’s fiancé.

 

“Fuck,” he whispered to no one but himself, “I need fresh air.”

 

He was starting to get a headache from all this overthinking.

 

So, he slipped out quietly.

 

He never heard any of the speeches either.

 

-

 

Arthur didn’t go back to the party after stepping out for that momentary breath of fresh air. Before long, he found himself dragging himself back to his apartment and consuming more alcohol.

 

_I feel like I’m stuck in the Twilight Zone. Something is definitely going on with Ted. I knew I should have trusted my gut._

 

That was the train of thought that Arthur had as he kept downing more and more bottles of beer, before finally drifting off to sleep.

 

It was a much needed nap for Arthur considering what a whirlwind this morning was for him. That was until Dom disturbed him with a phone call.

 

“‘Lo?” Arthur said through the phone.

 

“You asshole!” Dom growled through the other end. “Where the fuck are you?!”

 

“I’m at home Dom,” Arthur said, tired.

 

“Jesus Christ Arthur, do you know how worried I’ve been when I came back from my conversation with your boss only to find you gone from the party? I had to ask where you disappeared off to from some people and all they said was that you stepped out for a while. I called you around five times Arthur and you didn’t fucking pick up your phone!” Dom said angrily.

 

“I’m sorry,” Arthur said.

 

“I thought something happened to you!” Dom snapped.

 

“I’m sorry… really Dom… I had a headache,” Arthur replied, his voice obviously tired.

 

He could hear a sigh from the other end.

 

“Well… I’m glad you’re okay. Although, you might need to explain to Ari on Monday. She’s a bit pissed that you didn’t even say goodbye,” Dom said, voice gentle and worried.

 

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Arthur chuckled slightly.

 

There was no answer from Dom. Arthur pictured his best friend frowning right now. He could tell.

 

“Want me to come over?” Dom asked, a few moments later.

 

“Nah. I’m okay Dom… really. Just a bit tired that’s all - and hungry,” Arthur explained as he felt his stomach rumble.

 

“You didn’t get lunch, did you?” Dom snorted.

 

“No, I pretty much fell on the bed as soon as I arrived.”

 

“Figures.”

 

“I should get some lunch now though,” Arthur said as he glanced at his bedside clock, “Or should I say dinner considering the time. I’ll talk to you later Dom.”

 

“Okay. And Arthur… you take care of yourself okay?”

 

“I know Dom.”

 

“No really. Ever since you broke up with Robert, you’ve been… different. Just… Well Ari and I are just worried.”

 

“Dom, I’m not going over the deep end,” Arthur said as he rolled his eyes over Dom’s exaggeration.

 

“Okay. Well remember I’m just a phone call away if you need to talk,” Dom said, worried.

 

“I know, I know. Thanks Dom… really.”

 

-

 

Arthur walked up the stairs towards his apartment feeling really well now that he had food in his stomach.

 

Normally he didn’t like fast food as he found the amount of fats and carbs in them disgusting, but given the day he just had, he figured he needed something unhealthy to cheer him up. And McDonalds really delivered on that part.

 

Arthur stopped in front of his door and noticed something was amiss. The door to his apartment was unlocked.

 

_Okay, never thought it was possible, but this day got even worse._

 

Arthur carefully opened his front door, just enough for him to slip his body through. He carefully closed and locked the door behind him. If there’s an intruder inside the house, Arthur’s going to make sure he doesn’t escape.

 

Arthur, of course, has never been a victim of burglary, but he’s pretty sure that they operate in the dark.

 

So, it’s a surprise to see that his apartment was fully lit and even more so, when he saw that the kettle was on. But what really ticked him off was when he saw a familiar figure casually sipping tea reading the newspaper on his dining table.

 

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” Arthur asked, outraged.

 

“Now, now darling, is that any way to talk to someone who prepared tea for you?” the intruder casually asked in his perfect British accent, a hint of a smirk appearing on his face, as he gestured towards another cup in front of him.

 

“How the fuck did you get here?” Arthur asked, not bothering answering Eames’ question.  He was glaring at the Brit, who was casually dressed in a tank top and sweatpants. His tattoos on full display.

 

“Really darling, you need to take a sip. The tea’s getting cold,” Eames said as he patted the table to reinforce his point.

 

“Eames, I am not in the fucking mood to play any of your games right now. I had a really fucking crazy day and you breaking into my apartment is something I don’t need,” Arthur growled.

 

“Oh really? Do tell me more about your lovely day,” Eames said, clearly entertained and unfazed.

 

Arthur looked at him with the deadliest of glares. Eames just smiled back at him.

 

“Well for starters, I met someone who looks a lot like you, which was weird considering he was American and you’re British. And he’s getting married to my good friend in a month or so. My best friend thinks I’m going crazy and- Oh god… I’m going crazy,” Arthur said, horrified.

 

Eames frowned at that.

 

“That’s it. I’m slipping over the edge! Dom was right!” Arthur said, panicked as he started pacing back and forth in his foyer.

 

“Arthur,” Eames started.

 

“No, no,” Arthur said as he raised a hand to stop Eames from talking. “You’re just a figment of my imagination! That’s the only explanation. You’re not real. Oh my god. I am going insane! Jesus Christ, breaking up with Robert really did a number on me!” he continued as he paced even faster.

 

Eames stood up and walked towards Arthur. “If I’m not real Arthur, love, can I not do this?” he asked the smaller man as he gripped Arthur’s shoulder to stop him from pacing.

 

“Stop it,” Arthur growled, not sounding menacing enough.

 

“Ssshh…” Eames said as he brought his hands up to Arthur’s cheeks. “Just let yourself go,” before lowering his head and capturing Arthur’s lips with his own.

 

When Eames kissed him, Arthur’s mind ran like a speeding car. His thoughts were swimming with images of himself, Eames, Ted, Ari and Dom. He knew this was a really bad idea and it was going to end badly.

 

But then again, he’s never made a good decision lately. So, he just let himself melt in Eames’ kiss forgetting everything else at the moment.

 

-

 

Arthur woke up thanks to the barrage of knocks coming from his front door.

 

He blinked a few times to see that he was lying on the floor, a blanket wrapped on top of him. He also noticed that Eames’ arms were around his chest.

 

_Oh great. I slept with him again._

 

He took a moment to study Eames who was in fact, awake and looking at him with affection.

 

“Good morning love,” he murmured.

 

Arthur didn’t want to admit it out loud - Eames’ accent made him weak in the knees. Of course, Eames probably figured this out already thanks to the huge smile plastered on Arthur’s face. Those dimples on his face made Eames weak in the knees.

 

Another round of hard knocks disrupted the two’s afterglow.

 

“Okay, we need to talk. But after I get that,” Arthur said to Eames as he gestured towards the front door.

 

“I wouldn’t get that if I were you love,” Eames said, serious.

 

“Why?” Arthur said as he put on his boxers and proceeded towards the door.

 

“Oh, just a hunch darling,” Eames replied.

 

Arthur slowly unlocked the door expecting to find Dom standing in front of him, ready to scold him some more. Instead he found Ari staring back at him, with an angry look on her face.

 

That, Arthur thought, was much worse.

 

“Ari, what are you doing here?” Arthur asked as he blocked the doorway with his body, trying his best to hide Eames.

 

“Let me in Arthur,” Ari said slowly, clearly unbothered by the fact that Arthur just dressed in his boxers.

 

“Uhh… now’s not a good time Ari. I’ve got uhh… company,” Arthur said, trying to find a good excuse to make Ari disappear from his front door.

 

“Arthur. I know you _know_ , so if you value our friendship, you are going to let me inside,” Ariadne said.

 

He looked at Ari and saw that she was dead serious. So, against his better judgment, he let her inside.

 

“Okay Ari, before you say anything-” Arthur said before he was interrupted by his friend.

 

“I knew you’d be here,” Ari said coolly at the half naked man sitting smack in the middle of the living room.

 

“Ari, this isn’t what it looks like. That’s not Ted,” Arthur explained to her, clearly trying to avert a disaster of her presuming he slept with her fiancé when in fact, Eames wasn’t her fiancé.

 

He knew that from the party.

 

They were different people. Arthur knew that now.

 

“Hello Ari. I’m sorry you have to see this,” the half naked man sitting in the middle of the room replied, in a perfect American accent.

 

Arthur’s head whirled around to face Eames, his jaw dropping when he realized that Eames just spoke in an American accent.

 

_A fucking, American accent._

 

Ari just ignored Arthur’s surprise for the moment and proceeded to berate the man on the floor, “Ted, don’t you dare cover up for him! I want to talk to that no good cretin now. He needs to explain a few things!”

 

Arthur just exchanged glances between the two of them. No words to explain just how confused he is.

 

Ted or Eames, whatever (Arthur can’t really make up his mind yet) just stared blankly at Ari for a few seconds before the man managed to put on a smirk.

 

A very familiar smirk.

 

The same familiar smirk that Arthur saw in a club last night.

 

“Aah… Ariadne. I knew you’d come here eventually. I didn’t think it’d be this early though. You’re always spoiling my fun,” Ted/Eames said, British accent once again in place.

 

“Eames, we talked about this. Why do you enjoy giving Ted and I a hard time?” Ari sighed, tired and angry at the same time.

 

“If I knew the answer to that question love, then I wouldn’t be here in the first place,” Eames said sadly before turning his gaze back at Arthur, “I’m so sorry you have to see this darling. I guess you’re now caught up in this as well.”

 

Arthur just stared dumbfounded at Eames who had a sheepish look, then back at Ari who gave him an apologetic expression.

 

“Will someone please tell me,” Arthur began, “What the fuck is going on?

 

-0-0-

 

_Let away fairy tales and, little white lies_

_Everything you exhale_

_Is attracting flies_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holler if you liked it.


	3. Warning Sign

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re-uploaded since my boyfriend beta-ed it :)

_Whole sentences in italics are a character’s thoughts in his/her head._

-0-0-

 

** 03: Warning Sign (Coldplay) **

 

_A warning sign_

_It came back to haunt me, and I realized_

_That you were an island and I passed you by_

_And you were an island to discover_

-0-0-

 

“Okay… I am not going to repeat myself. Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?” Arthur asked, exasperated. He was exchanging glares between Ari and Eames, ignoring the fact that he was still, pretty much, just still in his boxers.

 

Aril noticed though.

 

“Uhh Arthur, can you please put on a shirt first?” Ariadne asked, obviously flustered at seeing Arthur half naked.

 

“Oh yes darling, even I must admit your six-pack is deliciously distracting,” Eames purred from the floor.

 

“Eames, stop it,” Arthur snapped at the man. He didn’t have time for any of his flirtatious side comments at this time in the morning. He took this moment to glance at the clock on the wall.

 

_Yep, definitely not at this hour._

 

“Okay, I am going in my bedroom to put on some clothes,” Arthur explained as he looked at Ari, “and when I come out, I expect someone to please explain to me what is going on.”

 

He didn’t even wait for either Ari or Eames to respond to his statement. Instead, he marched towards his room. Although, he did catch Eames giving him a small flying kiss from the corner of his eye.

 

_Crazy bastard._

 

Immediately after closing his bedroom door, Arthur went to his closet and rummaged through his clothes for something decent to wear. He picked out the topmost things on the pile - a white American Apparel v-neck and a pair of black shorts. He then closed the closet and readied himself for what was to follow.

 

_Okay… When you go out there, Ari is going to explain everything, then everything is going to make sense. Everything will turn out all right. You’ll see Arthur…_

 

Arthur took one long, deep breath before stepping out into the living room. Of all the things he was expecting, he certainly wasn’t expecting Ari and Eames to be at each other’s throats again.

 

“So tell me Ariadne, how on earth did you manage to find me?” Eames asked as he casually poured himself a cup of tea like he owned the place. Arthur noticed that Eames finally put on some clothes as well. Although his white tank top and silky, black boxers didn’t really help in hiding any flesh or his bulging muscles for that matter.

 

Not that Arthur was complaining though. Anytime he got to ogle at Eames’ sexy body was always welcome.

 

Arthur quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought as quickly as possible. He forgot that Eames is engaged to Ari…

 

Actually, he’s not quite sure anymore.

 

“Don’t tell me you’ve been stalking me?” Eames asked again, a playful, but rather annoyed smirk plastered on his face.

 

“I just logged on to my computer to find the GPS location of Ted’s phone Eames. And here you are at Arthur’s apartment,” Ari said dryly. She also was not in the mood to deal with this early in the morning.

 

“A-hem,” Arthur faked coughed from the doorway, in attempt to catch their attention.

 

Both Eames and Ari looked at Arthur.

 

“Okay, can someone now please explain to me everything?” Arthur asked as he sat down at his small dining table.

 

“Okay,” Ari replied as she took the seat right across Arthur’s. She looked incredibly exhausted.

 

“Here you go love,” Eames said as he gave Arthur the tea he prepared a minute ago and sat down at the chair beside him.

 

Arthur couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow over Eames’ casual display of affection. Especially since Ari was just in front of him and the Brit didn’t bother making her a cup.

 

_Smooth Mr. Eames. Real smooth._

 

“Uhh thanks,” Arthur said, not really sure how or what to respond. He looked briefly at Eames, who had a smile beaming on his face, showing off his rather adorable, crooked teeth.

 

“Anytime love,” Eames said, rather jovially too.

 

“Don’t get too comfortable Mr. Eames,” Arthur responded quite flatly.

 

Eames blinked a few times, taken aback by Arthur’s sudden formality. “Now what’s all the formality for, _darling_?” he asked, putting a bit of emphasis on the pet name.

 

“We have slept together twice now. I think that puts us past these… formalities, don’t you pet?” Eames added, as he chanced a glance at Ari who looked absolutely uncomfortable.

 

Arthur didn’t respond to that. Instead he asked with measurable annoyance, “Shouldn’t you be sitting with your fiancé on the other side of the table?”

 

No sooner had he said that, Eames’ smile instantly evaporated as he crossed his arms and said, a little to harshly, “She is not my fiancé.”

 

“Ugh, ditto,” Ari responded from the other side of the table as she waved a hand towards Eames in dismissal.

 

Arthur exchanged glances between the two of them and still had trouble picturing just what exactly is going on between the two of them.

 

“Okay, that explanation you promised me please Ari,” Arthur repeated as he played around with his mug. He was trying to keep himself calm by distracting himself with the cup.

 

“Well…” Ari started off. She was at a loss on how to explain this situation to Arthur. After all, how on earth do you tell someone that your fiancé has a serious mental condition?

 

“It’s complicated,” she simply stated. 

 

“Yes, I believe I have gotten that part perfectly Ari,” Arthur said, unintentionally rolling his eyes in the process.

 

If there’s one thing Arthur’s quite good at, it’s how he manages to keep his emotions in check when it comes to tense situations. Two years working under Saito had him going through daily verbal abuse. He needed to find a way to keep a poker face whenever he got the short end of the stick. It wasn’t that hard, really. He just needed to put face for an hour or two before venting it out onto his private Twitter account - a highly foolproof system.

 

And this situation: Ari and Eames at his dining table certainly qualified as a tense situation.

 

Correction: a _very_ tense situation.

 

Ari sighed. She realized that it’s probably time to stop bullshitting with Arthur. After all, this was Arthur, the guy who could find anything or anyone on the Internet.

 

“Okay… The simplest way of telling you this is that Ted has D.I.D.” Ari explained as she looked at Eames for emphasis.

 

“I’m sorry, what?” Arthur asked before proceeding to take a sip of his tea.

 

“Ted has Dissociative Identity Disorder. In other words, he has a spilt personality,” Ari said matter of factly.

 

Arthur accidentally choked on his tea, promptly sending a few drops on the table.

 

“Wha… whaaat?” Arthur replied, once managing to calm down. “You’ve got to be joking!” he added as he wiped his mouth from residue.

 

Ari was looking at him somberly. She definitely wasn’t joking. Not even in the slightest.

 

“I’m serious Arthur,” she added.

 

Arthur looked at Eames like he was some sort of extra terrestrial creature.

 

“You mean you and Ted-”

 

“We share the same body? Why yes, darling, that we do,” Eames finished for Arthur, looking quite bored and disinterested.

 

“But… How is that possible?” Arthur asked Eames before turning his gaze back at Ariadne. “I mean, I _know_ it is possible, but come on… the odds of that happening in real life-”

 

“Well apparently there’s only around five percent of the American population who is inflicted with this and it just so happens that the man you’re sitting next to is part of that very small demographic,” Ari said as she gestured towards Eames with her right hand.

 

“Well… Holy fuck,” Arthur said as he glanced back at Eames who was still grinning at him.

 

“Will you stop smiling?” Arthur demanded. “Jesus Christ Eames, you couldn’t have told me this before?” he asked, livid.

 

Eames just shrugged as he leaned his chair back. “I didn’t think it would be a problem to be honest,” the Brit answered.

 

Arthur saw Ari give Eames a look, to which Eames just rolled his eyes at.

 

“Really Eames? You didn’t think it wouldn’t be a problem? I slept with you for crying out loud! How did you think- Wait… Holy fuck, I slept with Ari’s fiancé,” Arthur said in horror as he buried his head in his hands.

 

“Darling, I am no one’s fiancé,” Eames repeated, his teeth gritting in annoyance.

 

“Shut up!” Arthur harshly said as he glared at Eames before turning back to Ari with utter horror in his eyes. “Oh god Ari, I slept with your fiancé-”

 

“Arthur darling for the last time, I am not-”

 

“ _Mister_ Eames, please shut up before I throttle this tea at you,” Arthur hissed, not even bothering to look at Eames. His threat seemed to work as the man beside him suddenly turned mute. Arthur took that as a sign to continue.

 

 “Ari, I slept with your fiancé. Or fiancé’s body. Whatever you want to call it-”

 

“Arthur,”

 

“But to be fair, I didn’t know he was bipolar of something. I mean, what are the odds of hooking up with a guy with a split personality in a club right? I mean-”

 

“Arthur, will you relax?” Ari cut him off. “You didn’t sleep with Ted. You slept with Eames. That’s different.”

 

The raven-haired man gave her the same look that he gave Eames moments ago. It’s as if she sprouted another head or two. Arthur couldn’t believe what he just heard.

 

“What do you mean it’s different? They share the same body Ari!” Arthur shouted. “They share the same dick! A dick I sucked and fucked with!”

 

“Okay Arthur,” Ari interjected suddenly, “First of all, that’s too much information. Second of all, this D.I.D. situation is already complicated to begin with, so I’ve managed to work out which things bother me and which things don’t. I know that Ted and Eames are two entirely _separate_ people, so in my mind, you simply slept with Eames. Although, I must admit, it is quite weird imagining you fucking Eames since he and Ted share the same-”

 

“Okay! I get it,” Arthur said, embarrassed.

 

He was sure he heard a distinctive chuckle and giggle from the two of them.

 

“I mean Arthur, come on. You’re the smartest guy I know and I pretty much love you like a brother. What other explanation do you think there could be after hearing Ted and Eames change accents earlier this morning?” Ari asked him as she propped her elbows on top of the table and rested her chin under her hands.

 

“I don’t know… I thought he was some sort of actor… maybe,” Arthur answered as he looked back at Eames to gauge his reaction.

 

In response to that, Eames’ eyebrows shot up. That train of thought certainly never crossed the Brit’s mind. In fact, he would have never assumed Arthur would think of him in that way.

 

“Me an actor? Oh darling, you flatter me,” Eames said in mock appreciation as he placed his hand on his chest in indignation.

 

Ari, Arthur noted, actually giggled at that.

 

“It was either that or you were a con man,” Arthur scowled back to his tea. He wasn’t too keen on being made of a fool, more so by Eames.

 

“And now you wound me darling!”

 

“Oh shut up Mr. Eames.”

 

A cool silence engulfed the room after that, as each of the three tried to avoid any further awkward conversations. Ari was busy looking around Arthur’s apartment since this was, after all, her first time inside. Eames’ body was turned towards Arthur. The Brit had his foot up on his chair as he rested his elbow on top of his knee as he stared at Arthur with utter amusement. Arthur, on the other hand, was playing around with the mug of tea in front of him.

 

This silence lasted for a couple of minutes, which was too long for Arthur’s taste.

 

“So Ari, are you sure you’re not angry with me sleeping with Eames?” Arthur asked, trying to rid the room of the eerie silence.

 

“I told you Arthur, I’m not. A bit weirded out that you slept with the man who happens to have the same body as my fiancé maybe, but I’m not angry.”

 

“Okay… That’s good,” Arthur said, relieved. “I promise you it won’t happen again anyway,” he added.

 

Eames just snorted at that.

 

“Moving on,” Arthur said as he glared at Eames, “how did this whole thing start anyway? Were you born with this condition? Also, why are you British and Ted is American? And why do you like guys?”

 

Arthur failed to notice how Eames’ eyes softened when he dropped the mister. The raven-haired man was too busy processing the situation at hand to notice.

 

“Honestly darling, I wouldn’t know that myself. All I remember was growing up with Ted with this condition. And as for the accent and the sexual preference, well, I don’t know the answers to those either.”

 

“But isn’t that weird? I mean, the other you is straight and you’re… kinda not.”

 

“Actually Arthur, apparently that is highly plausible,” Eames interrupted.

 

“Oh really? Well okay… I guess…” he paused before he asked, “Who’s the real one then?”

 

“I’m afraid I don’t follow your line of questioning, darling.”

 

“I meant, the real person on the birth certificate? Surely there must be the real and the _other_ personality,” he explained as he air quoted the word, _other_.

 

He didn’t have to wait for Eames to answer as the man just flinched at Arthur’s question. And that flinch answered the question, loud and clear.

 

“I’m sorry. That was rude,” Arthur said as he looked down in embarrassment.

 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Eames replied with a small smile as he patted Arthur’s knee under the table to show that there weren’t any hard feelings.

 

Arthur stared at Eames’ hands on his knee and couldn’t help but give a small, brief smile back. Brief because it would be painfully weird to flirt with Eames with his alter-ego’s fiancé in the same room. When he realized that Eames was flirting with him in front of Ari, he couldn’t help but scowl.

 

“Anyway,” Arthur murmured as he shoved Eames’ hands away. “Do you know why or how this happened?” he asked as he exchanged looks between Ari and Eames.

 

“Oh love, I wouldn’t be here if I knew the answer to that question now would I?” Eames asked slyly.

 

“Ted hasn’t told me anything much about this Arthur. Every time his therapist and I ask him about it, he just blanks up. Eames isn’t much help either in this aspect,” Ari explained.

 

“Therapist?”

 

“Oh yeah. That’s how Ted gets his treatment. We talk to his therapist every Wednesday and Saturday to help get to the bottom of this, but we’re moving at a slow pace. Eames doesn’t really like to cooperate,” Ari said as she flashed a disapproving look at the Brit.

 

“It’s because I don’t like her Ariadne,” Eames answered dryly.

 

“She’s trying to help Eames,” Ari said, a little too hotly as she stood up in frustration. The Brit just gave her a really passive look in response.

 

“Is therapy the only option you have as a treatment?” Arthur asked quickly as he tried to deflect the tension.

 

Eames and Ari both stared at him, before the petite woman sat down in her seat.

 

“There’s no surefire method on how to treat D.I.D. Arthur,” Ari answered. “I mean therapy is the least controversial among all of them.”

 

“And I am bloody not going through _those_ treatments ever again,” Eames spat.

 

As soon as Eames said that, Arthur couldn’t help but notice the flash of pain on Eames’ face. Sure he was angry and pissed at the moment, but the young architect was able to point that glimmer of pain for a fleeting second. And that bothered him. Arthur shuddered at the thought of Eames going through these “controversial” treatments. He didn’t want to know nor had he any intention of finding out.

 

“Sorry I asked,” Arthur murmured, thinking no one would be able to hear him.

 

Eames did though. And he gave Arthur a small sheepish smile; the Brit seemed to calm down a bit.

 

“So, uhhh, how do you come out then?” Arthur continued, his curiosity still not satisfied.

 

“Excuse me?” Eames asked as he arched an eyebrow.

 

“I mean, take over Ted’s body… or something along those lines,” Arthur added.

 

“Oh, I don’t know… I just do,” Eames answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

 

“Uh-huh,” Arthur said, his tone evident that he wasn’t satisfied with the answer given to him.

 

“It’s hard to explain really. I just do. Sometimes when I really want to come out, I sort of force myself out. Usually Ted doesn’t let me, so I’d have to wrestle with him for dominance. I usually win though. And then when I want to rest, I let Ted reclaim the body… or something like that,” Eames explained.

 

“Huh,” Ari replied.

 

“I’m sorry Ariadne, did you just scoff?” Eames asked, obviously not liking that sound from the girl.

 

“How come you never told me or the therapist this?” Ari asked, annoyed.

 

“Because unlike you and the therapist, I actually like Arthur,” Eames smiled deviously as he patted Arthur’s knee again. Ari just rolled her eyes at him.

 

“Okay Eames, you need to stop that,” Arthur replied as he took Eames’ hand away from his thigh, “Ari is just trying to help you.”

 

Eames just rolled his eyes, which made Arthur frown. “She’s not helping me Arthur darling. She’s helping Ted, her fiancé. And _that_ is _a vast_ difference,” Eames snorted.

 

Arthur couldn’t help but frown some more. He didn’t like how Eames suddenly attacked Ari like that. He was sure his best friend was only trying to help him. He was pretty sure that included both Ted and Eames.

 

“Eames, that’s absolutely not fair to Ari,” Arthur said as he gave Eames a warning look.

 

Eames just stared blankly at Arthur for about twenty seconds, before responding, “What’s not fair to Ari?” in an American accent, no less.

 

“Ted?” Arthur asked, surprised at how seamless the transition was.

 

“Another thing you should know Arthur,” Ari said as she stood up and gave her fiancé a hug, “is that Eames likes to disappear when things get too tough for him. And that usually leaves Ted and I to clean up the messes.”

 

“You’re too harsh Ari. He’s just… troubled that’s all,” Ted replied as he returned his fiancé’s hug.

 

Ari broke off the hug and stared at Ted. “Honestly Ted, I don’t know why you keep defending him,” she said tiredly.

 

“Ari, I’ve been living with him all my life. I know more about him than you do. He’s just misunderstood. Even I can’t figure him out. He just needs time to figure some stuff out. Hopefully, he’ll be able to answer a few of my questions as well. So cut him some slack until then,” Ted replied.

 

“Fine,” she replied.

 

Arthur was surprised over how protective Ted was over his alter ego. He’d assume Ted wouldn’t want anything to do with Eames because based on Ari’s experiences, Eames wasn’t really much of an upstanding citizen. It’d be easy for someone to dislike Eames right away. The fact that Ted had faith in Eames was touching.

 

“Anyway, what am I doing in this unfamiliar apartment?” Ted asked as he surveyed his surroundings.

 

“That unfamiliar apartment happens to be mine,” Arthur said as he raised his hand up.

 

“Oh it is? Why am I here the- Ahh of course, Eames. I’m hoping he didn’t give you too much trouble Arthur,” Ted said, sadly, hoping his other half didn’t do anything he would regret later on.

 

“It’s nothing really. He wasn’t too much of a trouble,” Arthur lied. He didn’t have the heart to tell the truth to Ted, who was being oh so courteous and polite.

 

_Another thing that separates these two apart is that where Eames is abrasive, while Ted is prim and proper. It just gets weirder and weirder._

 

“Well that’s good!” Ted said with a smile.

 

“Ted, we really should go back now. We’ve bothered Arthur long enough for a lifetime,” Ari said as she dragged her fiancé up on his feet.

 

“Okay, well I’ll see you soon Arthur,” Ted said as he walked towards the door.

 

“So sorry about this Arthur. This is rather embarrassing really,” Ari said with a flush as she looked at her co-worker.

 

“Really Ari, it’s okay. I’m just glad we finally sorted everything out really,” Arthur said as he gave the girl his famous smile, dimples and all.

 

Ari just smiled back and gave her friend a hug, only to be interrupted by her fiancé.

 

“Uhh, Arthur…”

 

Both Arthur and Ari turned around to face Ted.

 

“Where the hell are my other clothes? I seem to be just dressed in… basically underwear,” Ted said as he gestured at his body.

 

Arthur laughed as he got Ted’s clothes and chucked it at the taller man.

 

As soon as Ted was dressed, he and Ari stepped out of the apartment. Arthur was about to close the door when Ari’s head came peeking in at the very last second.

 

“Yes?” Arthur asked her, eyebrows up.

 

“Can you uhh… please keep this to yourself? I don’t want anyone finding about Ted’s condition,” she asked Arthur, eyes filled with concern and a hint of fright.

 

“Of course Ari,” Arthur replied with a smile.

 

“Especially Dom,” Ari added.

 

“Even Dom,” Arthur replied back with a nod.

 

“Okay, thanks!” Ari said before disappearing completely.

 

Arthur couldn’t help, but shake his head over that as he closed his front door and locked it up. To say that he had an interesting morning would be an understatement of the year.

 

He turned around and looked at his apartment.

 

_Hmm… What am I going to do now? That talk with Ari, Ted, and Eames certainly kept me awake. I’m not even sleepy in the slightest._

 

Arthur stopped thinking and proceeded to his bedroom desk, where he kept his laptop. He found himself opening his laptop for some reason. As soon as it was on, he opened a new webpage and promptly typed in Google, “Dissociative Identity Disorder” and pressed enter.

 

-

 

It had been a very long, stressful weekend for Arthur Hansen. What started out as a one-night stand morphed into one, huge headache for the young architect.

 

_So the guy I slept with turned out to be slightly crazy. And to top that off, he’s fiancé to Ari who pretty much knows everything that happened between the two of us. Can we say mindfuck please?_ Arthur thought as he walked up the stairs towards his apartment.

 

He really should be letting this entire scenario go already and move on; however, the entire thing was absolutely insane that he couldn’t help but replay the events in his mind again and again. Add to that the facts he picked up earlier during his Google search of D.I.D. didn’t help in quelling his curiosity over Ted/Eames’ condition.

 

_So, all I got over the weekend was stress. And tomorrow, I’m gonna get some more stress at work. Sigh. Seriously, why does the universe seem to hate me lately?_ Arthur wondered as he fumbled with the keys in his pocket.

 

He was clutching the grocery bags in his one arm while the other was busy trying to open the lock from the door. He was a quarter way through the lock turn when he noticed that his door was left open.

 

_Motherfucker. This is just what I need right now: an actual break-in! What else could go wrong in my life?_ Arthur cursed silently as he carefully put down the groceries on the hallway floor. He grabbed a huge jug of orange juice from one of the bags.

 

_Okay, obviously, I am improvising with my choice of weapon._

 

Arthur slowly turned the knob and with his feet slowly pushed the door open, just enough to squeeze himself inside. He peeked through the door and found a figure, dressed in a black hoodie rummaging through his kitchen cabinets. Arthur thought this was a good time for a surprise attack, given the fact that the figure’s backside was facing him.

 

_Okay, you motherfucker. You better say your prayers!_

 

Arthur raised the jug with both hands above his head. You know, to be able to whack the intruder’s head with. He was halfway through the kitchen; just reaching the edge of the dining table when the intruder turned around and Arthur came face to face with a rather surprised, but rather familiar face.

 

“Eames!? What the fuck?!?” Arthur shouted as he angrily dumped the orange juice on the dining table. “You fucking nearly gave me a heart attack!”

 

Eames just looked at him, scared to death from the surprise of seeing Arthur so suddenly.

 

“Why on earth are you here in my apartment? Again? And breaking and entering, no less? _Again_?” Arthur shouted as he placed his hands on his hips in annoyance.

 

“Uhh, Arthur, I’m not Eames at the moment.”

 

“Ted!?!” Arthur asked in shock. That American accent was too hard to miss. Although, Ted’s response didn’t answer Arthur’s question. In fact, it created even more.

 

“Ted, what on earth are you doing here in my apartment without Ari?” Arthur asked.

 

Ted just smiled at him and answered, “Uhh, speaking of Ari…”

 

“Ted! I just saw these grocery bags hanging out in the hallway. Is Arthur in… yet?” Ari said as she entered the apartment, tugging the grocery bags Arthur left out in the hallway inside.

 

“Arthur! You’re finally here!” Ari said with a smile as she continued dragging the bags over to the kitchen.

 

Arthur just stared at the girl, not really believing what he’s seeing.

 

“Okay freeze!” Arthur shouted as he pointed both at Ari and Ted. “How the hell did you two get in here? My door was locked when I left to buy groceries.”

 

Ari and Ted both glanced at each other.

 

“Uhh, Eames sort of broke in,” Ari answered.

 

“Eames?” Arthur asked, not sure if he heard that correctly.

 

“Yes. Apparently he has lock picking skills I wasn’t aware of,” said Ted, looking very grim. “Anyway, after picking the lock, he sort of disappeared leaving me and Ari in your apartment.”

 

Arthur slapped a hand against his forehead. “I should have known. I thought I was getting robbed for your information.”

 

Ari exchanged glances between Arthur and that huge jug of orange juice on the dining table. “And you were planning on doing what exactly with your intruder in the event that you were indeed getting robbed? Make him drink orange juice?” she asked with a snicker as she pointed to the jug beside Arthur.

 

“I was going to whack him on the head _for your information_ ,” Arthur pointed out as he patted at the nearby jug.

 

“Anyway, what are you guys doing here? That you had to break into my apartment?” he asked the two as he narrowed his eyes at the two of them.

 

“Actually, it’s because of Eames why we’re here,” Ted answered as he scratched the back of his head in anxiousness.

 

“What about Eames?” Arthur asked as he crossed his arms against his chest.

 

“Well Ari told me what happened this morning with Eames and how pretty much he was basically telling you his point of view,” Ted said nervously.

 

“Go on,” Ari said as she nudged Ted to continue.

 

“I was wondering if I can stay over here for a week?” Ted asked, or rather blurted it out more likely.

 

Arthur’s eyes just widened.

 

“I figured that if he spent time with you, he’d be able to talk to you more and we can probably figure out some answers or something,” Ted continued.

 

“What? Are you insane?” Arthur replied, and then let out a small gasp over his choice of words. “I mean, why me?”

 

“Because what Eames told you in one morning was more than the time he spent with me and the therapist for two months,” Ari replied. “He likes you Arthur. Strange as it may seem, but he does and he opened up to you.”

 

“Okay, I’m sorry, but I barely had time to digest everything you told me this morning and you want me to spend a week with Eames, who even without the multiple personality disorder is incorrigible as hell?” Arthur spat.

 

Ted looked crestfallen. “It’d be a great help Arthur. I… I’ve lived with Eames my entire life and he has never taken a liking to anyone except you. To be completely honest, you’re the only person he’s ever opened up to… and maybe, just maybe you’d be able to finally give me some answers on my condition,” Ted said.

 

Arthur stared at the man and his heart did flips on seeing how utterly in despair Ted was.

 

“Why, a week? Not for a couple of days?” Arthur asked, not wanting to answer just yet. If he was going to agree to this, he needed specificity on every single detail.

 

“It’s because my deadline for the bidding documents of the Howard Department store is on Friday. Given how Saito is, I’m pretty sure I’ll be spending most of my week at work,” Ari explained.

 

_Well that’s true._

 

“I don’t think I’ll be able to monitor Ted for the week as much as I want. But your workload isn’t that heavy this week, so I figured it’d be safer for him to room with you in the meantime,” Ari continued. “Besides, you’re the only one I trust with keeping Ted’s secret, well, a secret.”

 

Arthur just gave them the most stoic stare he could. “You’re not giving me much of a choice, are you?”

 

“Well, you could always say no,” Ted said with a sheepish smile. “But we’ll be forever be indebted to you if you did say yes,” he added.

 

_Oh great. Guilt-trip me then!_

 

Arthur continued staring at them before finally sighing, “Fine. Just one week, and not a day more!”

 

Ari shrieked as she rushed towards Arthur and gave him a really tight hug. Arthur was so taken aback by the force that he stumbled backwards in the process. He could see Ted just giving him a really big smile.

 

“Okay, I’m going to get the bags from the car!” Ari said as she rushed out of the apartment.

 

“Unbelievable,” Arthur said as he shook his head. “You guys brought clothes already without even asking me first?” he asked Ted, annoyed and amused at the same time.

 

“Well Ari said that you wouldn’t really object,” Ted answered as he gave a nervous laugh.

 

Arthur just rolled his eyes in response.

 

“Anyway, Arthur…” Ted said as he placed his hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “You have no idea how this means to me. Really. And you can expect me on my best behavior. I promise not to make any trouble. Eames, on the other hand, well… I can’t really speak for him.”

 

“It’s fine Ted,” Arthur said. “Just take note that I do plan on collecting your debt in future for this stunt,” he added as he stared right into Ted’s eyes just to give the impression that he wasn’t joking in the slightest.

 

“Oh, I’ll be offended if you didn’t!” Ted laughed. “I really should help Ari with those bags. But Arthur, really… thanks again,” he said as he disappeared through the front door to help his fiancé.

 

Arthur let out a huge pent-up sigh as he contemplated on having to live with Ted and Eames for an entire week.

 

_Okay… It’s definitely official: the universe hates me._

 

-0-0-

 

_So I crawl back into your open arms_

_Yes, I crawl back into your open arms_

_So I crawl back into your open arms_

_Yes, I crawl back into your open arms_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holler if you liked it!


	4. Ironic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next 3 chapters were supposed to be just one BIG chapter, but I realized if I continued then you guys probably wouldn't be able to see chapter 4 until like end of July. So I decided to break it off into 3 smaller chapters and here ya goooo.

_Whole sentences in italics are a character’s thoughts in his/her head._

 

 

-0-0-

 

** 04: Ironic (by Alanis Morissette) **

 

_It’s like ten thousand spoons,_

_When all you need is a knife._

_It’s meeting the man of my dreams_

_And then meeting his beautiful wife._

-0-0-

**Monday:**

 

“What on earth are you doing?”

 

Arthur nearly jumped out from his seat as he frantically closed his Internet browser. That voice-out-of-nowhere nearly scared him to death! He placed his hand across his chest in fright, feeling his heart beating quickly.

 

He turned his chair around to see Ari’s head peaking from above the office partition. It was a sight to behold considering how the built-up partitions in the office nearly reached Ari’s height. So it was amusing to see just her head sticking out on the topmost edge.

 

“Jesus Christ Ari! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Arthur glared as he patted his chest in an attempt to calm his swiftly beating heart.

 

Ari chose to ignore Arthur’s hysterics and simply asked again, “Is that… Were you just searching, _What to expect when living with a person suffering from D.I.D._ , on the internet?” Her eyes were lit with amusement.

 

“No,” Arthur lied flatly.

 

“Uh huh,” Ari replied, not believing any word he was saying. “Real smooth Arthur. Can you be any obvious?”

 

“Oh be quiet. I’m just trying to figure out if there are any precautions I should take and if there’s anything I need to be aware of… Since you know, Ted and Eames are kinda sleeping over in my apartment for the week,” Arthur explained.

 

Ari just shook her head in response.

 

“Okay, why are you shaking your head?”

 

“Because Arthur, no amount of preparation can help you deal with Eames. Trust me, I know that for a fact. Ted will behave I’m sure. He’s a real gentleman, but Eames - well… can’t help you with that,” Ari answered.

 

 _Well… She’s right on that one. Eames isn’t necessarily… Uh, how would you call this… textbook friendly?_ Arthur sighed.

 

“Really Arthur, if I had any information on how to deal with Eames, I’d give them to you in a heartbeat,” Ari continued, making weird motions in the air with her fingers.

 

“Fine, fine,” Arthur pouted as he sunk even lower in his chair.

 

Ari moved so that she was directly standing at the entrance of Arthur’s cubicle. Arthur could see she was wearing a really cute red dress.

 

 _Strange. She doesn’t usually dress this fancy at work. And she doesn’t have any meetings today as far as I’m concerned_.

 

“Now come on, let’s go have lunch down in the building cafeteria!” she said as she gripped Arthur’s hand and basically tried to drag him up to his feet.

 

Arthur steeled his grip on his chair as he talked, “Uhh Ari. You do realize I bring a packed lunch everyday and that I eat pretty much in my cubicle, right?” He pointed with his lips towards the right side of his cubicle where his lunch was neatly placed.

 

Ari let go of Arthur’s hand and placed her hands on her hips. “Yes, I am aware of that, but Ted cooked lunch for us so he’s coming over,” she said with a huff.

 

“Ted cooks?” Arthur asked, sitting back up straight on his chair. He was surprised to hear that.

 

Ari rolled her eyes. “Yes Arthur. Unlike some men, Ted knows how to cook. And he is very good at it.”

 

“Hey!” Arthur retorted, hurt at the accusation thrown at him.

 

His friend took a stride inside the cubicle, making it even more cramped than it should be, and grabbed Arthur’s so-called lunch. She took the lid off and examined the contents. “Really Arthur? Steamed chicken and vegetables?” she asked him, perplexed at how Arthur could stand to eat this shit.

 

“Hey, I need to watch what I eat alright! This six-pack is hard work for your information. Besides, you know I don’t really… you know, cook,” Arthur glared as he snatched his lunch away from Ari’s hands and set it down near his computer monitor. He earned a roll of the eyes in response.

 

“Whatever, Arthur. Look, Ted brought lunch big enough for the two of us, so it would be rude if you didn’t eat it,” Ari said.

 

Arthur stared at his friend. He noticed that she’s got that look on her face again – that look wherein she wouldn’t take no for an answer. It was a look Arthur was way more accustomed to than he would have liked. This was another battle he knew he wouldn’t win.

 

_Sigh._

 

“Is bulldozing through my life one of your hobbies now?” Arthur asked as he rubbed his temples in defeat.

 

Ari chose to ignore what seemed to be Arthur’s rhetorical question as she clapped her hands together in joy. Well… she’d like to think that question was rhetorical.

 

“Is that why you’re wearing a dress? Because Ted is visiting?” Arthur asked, gesturing at Ari’s outfit.

 

“Of course!” Ari answered. “Because unlike someone, I like to be comfortable in the office where stress is always present.”

 

 _Aah yes_. Arthur forgot one little detail in Ari’s personality. _I forgot that she’s such a little passive aggressive gremlin_.

 

Of course, Arthur thinks that with love.

 

“Three piece suits are quite comfortable, thank you very much,” Arthur replied as he gestured at his own clothing. He was rather quite proud of his sense of style. True, he did quite splurge on his clothing, but he can’t help it. Holding really expensive threads gave Arthur such a rush.

 

_Hey, at least, it’s better than getting high on drugs._

 

“It’s stuffy, it’s what it is!” Ari replied with a roll of her eyes. Arthur just flashed her a rather wide smile, amused that he has gotten the upper hand on this conversation.

 

Eye rolling. Yeah, his friends and himself tend to do that a lot.

 

“Anyway, let’s go! Ted is already downstairs at the building cafeteria!” Ari replied as she grabbed Arthur’s hand and dragged him outside the office and down to the building cafeteria two floors below.

 

To call the building cafeteria a cafeteria would be a gross misjudgment. Most of that attributing that the space doesn’t even look remotely like a cafeteria. In fact, it looked more like a small food court, littered with numerous food establishments (that were quite expensive, Arthur noted) and quite luxurious dining tables and chairs. It even had planted trees and fountains at the center for crying out loud! All these and more were evident that calling this area as a cafeteria would be a thorough injustice. Arthur would know, he was an architect after all. But for some reason, the stupid building manager placed building cafeteria on the placard down at the lobby and ever since, it’s been called that. And that’s just one of the things Arthur files in his list that he calls, _Things That Irritate Him_.

 

There are a lot of things jotted down on that list of his actually: people who don’t flush the toilet. Making small talk with strangers. Robert. Spilling something on his suit. PDA. Long, uncomfortable silences. Accidentally stumbling on spoilers online. Taylor Swift. Messy people. A badly mixed and awful tasting Mojito. Really loud music. Dogs (actually, animals in general). People who use architectural terms incorrectly. And a whole bunch of other stuff.

 

In hindsight, it would be safe to assume that Arthur was sort of a stick-in-the-mud. He just hoped living with Ted and Eames wouldn’t fall into that list of his.

 

“Aaah Arthur! It’s so good to see you!” Ted said as stood up and shook Arthur’s hands.

 

“It’s nice to see you too Ted,” Arthur said with a smile as he shook Ted’s hand and sat down in one of the many dining tables in the cafeteria.

 

“Hope you don’t mind spending lunch down here with me and Ari. I know how you usually spend your lunch in the office,” Ted said, embarrassed over the fact that he might be troubling Arthur.

 

Arthur gave a leveled stare at Ari, who was seating rather comfortably beside Ted. _Really, is there anything about my life you have not shared with this man?_ Ari, of course, just batted her eyelashes at him. _Should have known._

 

“Really Ted,” Arthur replied, turning his attention back at Ari’s fiancé, “not a problem. Besides, Ari says you’re a good cook so I’m very eager.”

 

“She tends to exaggerate,” Ted blushed as he gave out his cooked lunches for the two.

 

“Oh what is this?” Arthur asked as he opened it and smelled a really, delicious aroma.

 

“It’s Ted’s specialty, Chicken Parmigiana. Really Arthur, it’s like sex on a plate!” Ari exclaimed excitedly as she opened hers as well.

 

“Ari, I think I could do off without the visual thanks,” Arthur replied, causing Ted to laugh that boom of laugh of his. _Well I’m glad someone’s enjoying._

 

Once Arthur took a bite out of the chicken however, he had to agree with Ariadne’s statement. Arthur could say, that this was probably one of the most delicious dishes he has ever tasted in his entire life. And being an architect meant going to a lot of fabulous and upscale parties, but Ted’s dish simply blew all those dishes out of the water… by a mile.

 

“Ted! This is absolutely delicious!” Arthur exclaimed, as he stared at Ted in awe.

 

“Really? You liked it?” Ted asked, beaming with joy and surprise.

 

“Jesus yes! It’s really, really good!” Arthur said as he continued devouring the thing. “I’m finding it hard to believe you did this from the ingredients in my pantry!”

 

Ari just grimaced and wiped her arm clean. “Eww Arthur, say it don’t spray it!” she glared her friend.

 

Ted just laughed at the two’s exchange. “Actually, Ari and I dropped by the grocery before heading to your place. I told her I wanted to cook and she sort of dragged me to get ingredients.”

 

“Yeah, Ari does tend to drag people around a lot,” Arthur replied. “Hey, ow!” Ari just kicked him from under the table.

 

“Actually my mom was the cook in the family,” Ted continued, not noticing the tension happening underneath the table, “she liked to dabble with recipes every now and then.”

 

“Oh wow! Well, when the wedding comes around, I’ll be sure to thank her personally,” Arthur said as he continued eating.

 

Ari and Ted just exchanged glances with each other before Eames looked down at the table.

 

“What’s wrong?” Arthur asked, noticing something was up.

 

“Uhh… Ted’s mother passed away five years ago,” Ari answered as she looked at her fiancé while she rubbed his back.

 

Arthur stopped eating and dropped his fork in embarrassment, “Aw shit Ted. I’m sorry… I didn’t know. So fucking sorry.” He then looked at Ari and silently mouthed, _A little heads up next time, thank you_.

 

“It’s okay Arthur. Totally not your fault,” Ted said as he waved his hand away, seemingly trying to rid the area of the awkwardness precipitating a few minutes ago. “Besides, I actually met Ari in one of my mom’s commemorative death anniversary fundraisers. So that’s one silver lining,” he said as he smiled at his fiancé.

 

“Aha. Ari never did tell me how you guys met! Glad to finally hear it!” Arthur said.

 

“Hey Ari!” a man called from the entrance, interrupting the table’s conversation.

 

“I’m currently eating at the moment Lester,” Ari shouted, paying the man no mind.

 

“It could wait. Saito’s looking for you upstairs!” the man, Lester continued, shouting as he stood at the doorway.

 

“Ahh shit. Wonder what his highness needs?” Ari asked, annoyed her lunch was being disrupted. “I’ll be there in a minute Lester!” she shouted at the man across the room. “I’ll see you two later. Oh and uhh, Arthur, play nice with Ted,” she said before walking off.

 

“What?! What the? Why didn’t you say that to Ted?” Arthur called out to the little lady.

 

“Ted always plays nice!” Ari shouted back, not even giving them a glance before disappearing into the hallways with Lester.

 

“I swear that girl sometimes…” Arthur muttered to himself before realizing Ted was still with him. “Oh… sorry,” he added with a blush as he noticed Ted giving him some sort of look.

 

“Hey don’t worry, I know how you and Ari bicker all the time with each other,” Ted said with a laugh.

 

“Yeah, we do that with love though,” Arthur explained.

 

“I know Arthur,” Ted said with a smile.

 

“Yeah… she’s like the little, annoying sister I’ve never had,” Arthur added, begrudgingly. Ted blinked for a few seconds before bursting out into a huge laugh once again.

 

“So, uhhhh…” Arthur trailed off once Ted’s laughter died down, not sure how to go about this. He didn’t like small talk at all. It was on his list after all. “Did you have any pets growing up?” Arthur asked, grasping whatever question that popped inside his head.

 

“Oh no. I’m afraid I don’t do pets very well,” Ted said in all seriousness.

 

“Really?” Arthur’s eyes lit up. “Then you and I are going to be very good roommates then!” he added with a laugh.

 

“You don’t like animals too?”

 

“It’s not like I don’t like animals. I just don’t like the responsibility of owning one,” Arthur said.

 

“Aaaahhh! Totally understand. Well I can’t really have any pets… with my condition and all. Not sure how Eames would react to having to care for a small puppy or cat,” Ted said, nonchalantly before he noticed Arthur finished the dish he prepared for him. “Oh you’re done already?”

 

Arthur gave a small blush and answered, “Yeah… It was so good. I couldn’t really stop!” and then gave a small, nervous laugh.

 

“Aww that’s nice of you! Well hopefully, you still have room for dessert!” Ted said as he rummaged through his plastic bag.

 

“Dessert?” Arthur asked, not sure if he heard that correctly.

 

Ted looked at him strangely. “Yes, dessert. You didn’t think I wasn’t going to serve you dessert, did you?” he asked Arthur as if the entire notion of not serving dessert was a crime. He grabbed the container of small cupcakes and handed them to Arthur.

 

Arthur just stared at the really luscious and creamy little cupcakes Ted offered him and laughed, “Where have you been all my life Ted?” before reaching out for a piece.

 

 

-

 

**Tuesday:**

 

Arthur dragged his sorry ass up the stairs towards his apartment. He gripped the stair handrails a little too tightly, obviously pissed and annoyed. He had a stressful day at work, dealing with annoying and undermining engineers who refuse to follow his design for his current project. Not only that, his work PC almost crashed today and god knows he hasn’t backed up his latest architectural revisions yet. Add to that, the fact that the elevator in his apartment decided to fucking malfunction today causing him to walk up around six flights of stairs. But what really pissed him the most was that there was a quite large catsup stain on his suit.

 

Arthur grumbled as he clasped the area on his suit with the stain and gently rubbed his thumb over it as if expecting it to magically disappear. He really shouldn’t be too angry about the collision considering it was really an accident. It wasn’t his fault that when he turned around one of the corridor’s corners, he bumped with a coworker who just happened to be eating his meatball sub. It also wasn’t his fault that some of it fell on his grade-A suit. What did anger him was the fact that his coworker thought wiping the catsup stain with his tissue was good idea.

 

 _You don’t do that. Ever_.

 

Arthur recalled that he could only gape with mouth open as his coworker spouted off a dozen apologies for ruining his suit while attempting to wipe it off.

 

 _Clearly he was an amateur_. Arthur thought as he stepped onto his unit’s floor. He still couldn’t help but shake his head over the debacle, remembering the guy promised to pay for the cleaning bill.

 

He was halfway through the corridor when Arthur stopped and sniffed through the air.

 

 _Something is burning._ He noted with a frown. A few more steps and a few more sniffs and he pretty much confirmed it again. _Yep, something is definitely burning. Mrs. Brooks must have burned her casserole again._

 

Only by walking closer to his apartment did he realize it was coming from his own unit.

 

“What the fuck!?” Arthur shouted, panicking over the realization. _Jesus Christ! My apartment is going to burn down!!_ Arthur whipped out his keys and hurriedly unlocked it.

 

As soon as he stepped inside, his eyes immediately fell upon the kitchen. There was a really prominent flame on top of his stove that was burning with wild abandon. And a man, armed with an apron and oven mitts, trying desperately to put out the fire that latched onto his sleeves. Arthur had no qualms who that man was. He had no doubt.

 

“Eames?! What the fuck happened”

 

“Uhhh… Arthur love, a little fucking help please?” Eames shouted over the ruckus as he tried blowing out the fire on his arm.

 

“Jesus Christ!” Arthur exclaimed as he chucked his suit and tie towards the side before heading towards the kitchen. He grabbed the portable fire extinguisher from one of the cabinets and once he had possession of the appurtenance, immediately sprayed Eames (who by the way was spouting off some rather nasty English curses at the moment) first. Once he saw that Eames was in the clear, he turned his attention towards the fire on the stove and sprayed like a madman before shutting the stove off. Both men were breathing rather heavily after the ordeal.

 

“Fuck,” Eames swore as he took off his long sleeved shirt and examined the spot on his arm that was caught in the fire. There were small red burn marks, but on further studying, it wasn’t that serious. “Thank bloody god!” Eames let out a huge sigh of relief as he sat down on one of the kitchen chairs in exhaustion while continuing to pat his burns.

 

“Eames!” Arthur said through gritted teeth, also with eyes closed because he couldn’t really concentrate on a half naked Eames right now. A half naked Eames who had an apron and oven mitts on both of his hands. Arthur couldn’t handle the image. It was just too much at the moment.

 

“What the fuck? Were you trying to burn down my apartment?!” Arthur shouted after finally getting his bearings.

 

“Calm down. I would have put out the fire… eventually,” Eames said, murmuring that last bit.

 

“Stop.” Arthur snapped, enraged even. “You don’t get to make any light hearted jokes from this Eames!”

 

“Arthur, I’ll clean the mess up. It’s really no big deal,” Eames said, annoyed at how Arthur refused to calm his fucking tits down.

 

“No! Fuck! You don’t fucking understand! You almost… The fire… This could have… Goddamit!” Arthur snarled as he ran his hand through his hair.

 

The Brit just stared at the other man cursing in front of him. He couldn’t really fathom just at how much Arthur was sort of overreacting about the entire situation.

 

“Jesus Christ Eames! You almost burned down making my apartment making-,” Arthur stopped shouting momentarily as he took a rather disgusting glance at whatever was on the stove and continued, “making _this._ Whatever the fuck this was!” He poked around the nearly burnt pan on the stove to reinforce his point.

 

“I was just trying to make dinner,” Eames growled, his frustration at Arthur’s over-the-top behavior finally reaching its peak.

 

“You could have just gotten take out or something Eames. Or waited for me for crying out loud!” Arthur replied, livid and then proceeded to glare at Eames.

 

Eames glared back at Arthur, silent, which the smaller man found rather unnerving considering the Brit never shuts up.

 

“You know what, just forget the bloody fucking thing. I am sorry I nearly burned down your apartment,” Eames said, voice completely devoid of emotion. Arthur caught that there was a lack of pet names into the conversation as well, which meant that there was definitely something wrong with Eames.

 

Of course, he couldn’t really ask Eames what was wrong since he was technically still very angry with the Brit.

 

Eames took the oven mitts and apron off him and carefully placed it on top of the table. The Brit caught Arthur staring at him and couldn’t help but mock the smaller man with a curtsy, earning himself a deep scowl. Eames just shook his head, possibly from disappointment, as he grabbed an icepack from the fridge and placed it on his arm, all the while under Arthur’s watchful and rather scornful eye. The Brit ignored him and just sulked off towards the living room leaving Arthur by himself in the kitchen.

 

Arthur whispered several curses over the whole situation. “Fucking Eames. If I knew he was _this_ much of a trouble, I wouldn’t have agreed to this,” Arthur said to himself softly, careful to not let the other man in the room hear. He continued glaring at Eames, who had his back turned on him, before turning back to the crime scene.

 

The entire stove area was a disaster. Because there wasn’t any other words that could describe it really. A mixture of white foam and black residue from the fire literally covered the area.

 

 _Fuck! This is a mess. I’m getting Ari to pay for this shit since she technically is this guy’s fiancé. What on earth was this asswipe trying to make anyway?_ Arthur thought to himself as he surveyed the situation some more when a familiar torn, white piece of paper on the far left side grabbed his full attention.

 

He stared at the piece of paper with disbelief. His hands trembling slightly as he gently touched it. The small piece of paper was a recipe of Spaghetti Carbonara. The dish wasn’t super special if you think about it. After all, it was just spaghetti after all. But it was his mother’s recipe, a recipe he grew up and fell in love with. And what made it even more special was his mother handwrote it… just a few days shy of her sudden, unfortunate passing. Arthur felt his eyes soften as he smiled at the small note his mom wrote to him at the back of the torn paper. She wrote, “Dear Arthur, I know how much you can’t get enough of this recipe. Ever since you were a little boy, I can remember how your eyes lit up whenever I cooked this. Now you’ve already matured into a wonderful, young man and I’ve come to sadly accept that I won’t be able to see you as much as I want to. So whenever you get homesick, here’s the recipe to your favorite dish to help you think of home. I love you and I can’t wait to meet your future husband soon!”

 

 _That’s weird._   Arthur thought, after finishing reading that familiar note from his mom. _I could have sworn I’ve hidden this in the-_

 

Arthur’s head suddenly snapped its attention back at Eames, not that he could see since he had his back turned towards him. Everything was finally falling into place in Arthur’s head.

 

 _Well fuck._ _I guess that pretty much makes me an asshole._

 

Arthur sighed as he gently tucked his mother’s recipe in his breast pocket and crossed his apartment into the bathroom, trying to ignore the possible thought of Eames looking at him (which by the way, he totally was). The architect opened his medicine cabinet and grabbed the small first aid kit. Sighing once again, he went out towards the living room.

 

Arthur made his way towards the couch and sat right beside Eames. He offered a hand out, to which Eames just stared at curiously with a raised eyebrow. The Brit not even sure if Arthur was offering what he thought it was. Arthur just glared at Eames causing the bulkier man to offer his slightly burnt arm to the architect.

 

Eames winced a bit when Arthur gripped his arm a little too tightly. And to his surprise, the other man let out a really sincere and very concerned apology.

 

The Brit watched Arthur take some sort of salve from inside the first aid kit and carefully rubbed it on the burnt mark. Eames was biting his lips in anticipation of the pain, but was pleasantly surprised when there was none. Whatever gel Arthur was applying on him was very, very cool and weirdly soothing. He welcomed the sensation wholeheartedly.

 

It went on for a while, this strange silence that engulfed both of them. Neither man really sure what to say exactly. Arthur, being not too fond of long moments of silence decided to finally break it off.

 

“I’m sorry Eames,” Arthur said as he stopped massaging Eames’ arm.

 

Eames was startled by Arthur’s apology. He never expected _that_ from Arthur, him and his stubbornness and all. So hearing that from the other man was shocking - in a good way.

 

“It’s my fault Arthur. You don’t have to apologize really,” Eames said softly as he gave the other man a wide smile, showing off once again his rather adorable, crooked teeth.

 

“No, I really do,” Arthur said as he raised his hands up to stop Eames from responding. He took out his mother’s recipe from his pocket and stared at it down as he rested the paper on his lap. “I know what you were doing. And well… I was an asshole earlier. The thought of your gesture was sweet,” he added as he gave Eames a disarming, sincere smile.

 

“Was just trying to be nice you know love. Since you’re so kind for letting me stay over for a week,” Eames replied with a shrug of his shoulders like it was no big deal at all. “Just saw that and thought you’d like to eat some after work or something.”

 

“Well even though you failed miserably,” Arthur said with a short glance at the disaster in the kitchen, “your heart was in the right place.”

 

Eames scoffed, clearly uncomfortable over how mushy this was going. “I know. I’m a sweetheart really,” Eames replied, with a playful tone.

 

“You do realize I’m letting the fact that you were snooping through my things just go by, right?”

 

“Of course,” Eames chuckled.

 

“So stop giving _yourself_ praises.”

 

“But that’s difficult,” Eames pouted.

 

Arthur couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief, although with no malice in mind. Once Eames’ chuckling died down, silence once again took over.

 

Arthur was still clutching his mother’s recipe in his hands, his thumbs gently rubbing it with affection. “My mom… my mom died in a fire,” he suddenly blurted out, refusing to look up at Eames.

 

Eames’ eyes widened at Arthur’s confession. _Oh so that’s why he was…_ Eames trailed off as he glanced back at the stove and remembered at how Arthur was reacting then. He looked back at Arthur and his eyes softened. _Well bloody hell._

He couldn’t help but feel like an ass himself as well. He reached out and gently grabbed Arthur’s hands in concern. Arthur, startled by Eames’ actions, slightly jumped before easing off and looking at Eames who was smiling at him sadly.

 

“I’m sorry to hear that Arthur,” the Brit said.

 

Arthur shook his head. “It’s not your fault. Just bad luck. Really, fucking bad luck,” he laughed bitterly and then added, “I’ve never really talked about this with too many people.”

 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to Arthur,” Eames said with sincerity. Arthur just stared at him, not used to seeing Eames this way.

 

“No, it’s… it’s alright. I think it’s just about time too,” Arthur replied, taking his eyes away from Eames and back to the paper. “My father left us when I was born, so it has pretty much just me and my mom ever since. A couple of years ago, I was visiting her back at home and you know, she was just in the living room, knitting with her pet cat, Ser Pounce A Lot (to which Eames chuckled, causing Arthur to briefly smile). Just another typical, normal day you know? Anyway, I was visiting a friend’s house two blocks down when someone screamed that there was an explosion down the street. Apparently, the gas furnace in the kitchen suddenly exploded for some reason, causing a really huge fire and my mom… my mom had hip problems so she had trouble walking. She didn’t make it out in time… And by the time I got there - I was too late.”

 

“Fuck Arthur, I’m so sorry,” Eames said, grief stricken.

 

“Yeah well… next thing I knew I was at a grave saying goodbye. Thank goodness for Dom being there, or else I wouldn’t know what to do,” Arthur bitterly laughed. “That’s why I really don’t like to cook ‘cause I’m afraid… I’m afraid it’s going to happen to me too. And seeing the recipe just brought back that painful memory,” he continued as he sadly looked at Eames.

 

Eames wrapped his arm around Arthur and pulled him in. The Brit wanted to make Arthur feel better, no he wanted Arthur to be more than better. He wanted Arthur to be whole.

 

“Shh… Arthur… It’s okay… You’re okay,” Eames whispered as he stroked Arthur’s head with care and gave small kisses on the top of his head. Arthur just got lost in Eames’ arms, quiet as a mouse, but gripping the Brit’s arms like he was going to away.

 

_Bloody fuck Arthur. I swear… I swear I am going to do whatever it takes to help you get through this. I fucking swear it!_

 

They stayed like this for a while, neither one really paying any attention just how long they were in that position.

 

“Sorry,” Arthur finally said, embarrassed over his breakdown as he slowly pulled away from Eames’ embrace.

 

“No apologies,” Eames replied with an endearing smile. “Are you feeling better now?”

 

“Actually, I’m uhh… kind of hungry,” Arthur said with a shy grin.

 

Eames just chuckled again. A chuckle, Arthur must note, he is getting rather fond of. “Well I’m afraid we’re going to have to go out since I failed at making you dinner,” Eames said with a smile.

 

Arthur just laughed, feeling good that he finally was able to let go of some weight off his shoulders. “You know, I’m still getting my head wrapped around this whole split personality thing,” Arthur said, after his laughter died down.

 

“Oh how so?”

 

“Well judging from the kitchen, it’s pretty much safe to assume you’re not much of a cook, but Ted… well Ted’s a natural,” Arthur explained.

 

Eames crossed his arms against his chest and scoffed, “I know. I heard Ted cooked a wonderful lunch for you yesterday. I got jealous and-”

 

“Wait!” Arthur interrupted. “How’d you know that?”

 

“Know what?” Eames asked, not really sure what Arthur was getting at.

 

“How’d you know Ted cooked me lunch? Wait, did you talk to Ari?” Arthur asked, confused.

 

“Arthur love,” Eames said, giving Arthur a really strange look. “Do you honestly think I would talk to Ariadne? _Willingly_?”

 

Arthur took a moment to consider that question. _Okay, stupid question_. “Well how’d you do it then?” he asked, still intrigued over Eames’ knowledge of his lunch with Ari and Ted yesterday.

 

Eames just stared at Arthur weirdly like he couldn’t believe this conversation was happening in the first place. “I talked to Ted,” he answered finally.

 

Arthur cocked his head in confusion. “You… talked to… him?” he repeated Eames’ answer, allowing it to process slowly in his head.

 

“Yes,” Eames replied like it was the most normal thing in the world.

 

“How do you talk to Ted?”

 

Eames just shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know… I cornered him last night when he was asleep. I talked to him face to face for the first time in what… almost twenty years I think.”

 

“So you two actually saw each other?”

 

“That’s what face to face means darling. Anyway, that only happens when I want to talk to him. When he tries to reach out to me, I don’t usually respond,” Eames said with a wave like it was nothing, “But I was curious over what happened with you during the day so I kinda forced myself onto Ted… Wait… That sounded bloody wrong.”

 

“Huh,” Arthur responded, trying to process everything Eames just said.

 

 “Well anyway, the bloke was really surprised and quite happy about me wanting to talk to him after a long time. But he had to spoil that when he said he cooked you lunch… and I know just how good of a cook Ted is,” Eames seriously said.

 

“Does your therapist know about this?” Arthur asked.

 

“About Ted being a good cook?”

 

“No!” Arthur said as he slapped his forehead in exasperation, “I meant you and Ted being able to talk to each other freely.”

 

Eames shrugged, not really wanting to get into a conversation about his therapist with Arthur. Arthur picked up on that rather quickly.

 

“Okay, well, thank you for telling me,” Arthur said with a small smile, “That would helpful information tomorrow during the-”

 

“What’s wrong Arthur?” Eames asked, concerned when he noticed that Arthur suddenly stopped talking.

 

“Eames…” Arthur said as he stood up.

 

“Darling, what’s wrong?” Eames asked, also standing up.

 

“Why is there a Welsh Corgi at my bedroom doorway?” Arthur asked very slowly as he pointed out to the small dog behind Eames. The dog suddenly gave a small bark as he pranced towards them.

 

“Aww, isn’t the little guy adorable?” Eames chirped as he bent down and grabbed the dog up to his face. “I found him in an alley nearby. The poor thing was all alone and shivering in fright!” he added as the corgi happily licked the Brit’s face. “Aww stop it mate. You’re slobbering all over me!” he laughed.

 

Arthur just testily just stared at Eames. “So you picked up a stray?” he asked.

 

“Well I can’t just leave the poor little thing all alone now, could I?” Eames answered as he started making cutesy faces at the corgi.

 

“Why didn’t you just take it into the animal shelter? We can’t have a puppy here Eames,” Arthur said, hands on his hips whilst tapping his foot on the floor in annoyance.

 

“Are you allergic?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then I don’t see what’s the problem Arthur,” Eames looked darkly at him. The corgi exchanging glances between the two of them as if it knew what was happening.

 

“Eames. I don’t do pets.”

 

“What sort of person doesn’t like a corgi?”

 

“Eames! This is my apartment and-”

 

“Arthur, I am not leaving little Tommy outside where it is unsafe for him!” Eames replied, shocked at Arthur’s cruel heartedness, as he clutched the corgi closer to the his body.

 

“Oh for crying out loud, you gave it a name already?” Arthur said, exasperated at Eames’ behavior… again. It’s crazy how Arthur’s perception on Eames could change so easily.

 

“Arthur, how can you be so cruel?” Eames fake cried as he shoved the corgi at Arthur’s face, “Just look at him!”

 

And Arthur swore, he fucking swore that corgi whimpered at him. It whimpered! At him!

 

Arthur crossed his arms against his chest. “Eames, you are acting like a child. Stop it,” he warned the other man.

 

“If Tommy goes, I go,” Eames said, his eyes going dark and his tone incredibly grave.

 

“Eames, you are overreacting,” Arthur stated, not wanting to budge. Eames didn’t say anything but continued staring at him. It wasn’t even a glare, but just a normal stare that unsettled Arthur.

 

The architect glanced at the corgi who was barking at him as if begging for Arthur to allow him to stay. Arthur looked back at Eames and said, “First things first, you are going to get him a rabies shot tomorrow if he still hasn’t had one. And secondly, if he pees on the bed, he’s off to the pound.”

 

-0-0-

 

_And isn’t it ironic, don’t cha think?_

_\---_

_Author's Note:_

_Eames adopting a dog was influenced by[these ](http://chasind.tumblr.com/post/52947575844/my-new-favorite-thing-tom-hardy-with-dogs)photos of Tom Hardy with a dog. Since I'm rather obsessed with owning a corgi, I switched the breed of dog for that. Oh, that's my Tumblr btw, so feel free to follow if you wanna._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holler if you liked it!


	5. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reposted now that it's edited.

_Whole sentences in italics are a character’s thoughts in his/her head._

 

~~Beta-less, whee!~~

 

 

-0-0-

 

** 04: Why Do You Let Me Stay Here (She & Him) **

 

_Why do you let me stay here_

_All by myself?_

_Why don’t you come and play here?_

_I’m just sitting on the shelf._

-0-0-

**Wednesday:**

 

“Come on Eames, you better not ditch me on this! You fucking promised me yesterday!” Arthur shouted as he glared at the man sitting on the couch.

 

The man simply stared apologetically at the architect and shook his head. “Sorry Arthur. It doesn’t look like Eames is coming out soon,” the man replied, American accent in place.

 

“Dammit!” Arthur shouted as he unceremoniously plopped on the couch, a few spaces away from Ted’s position. With a forlorn sigh, Arthur covered his face with his hands. He was both pissed and tired at the same time. Other than his boss, he had never he dealt with anyone so unreasonable.

 

“Arthur, it’s not your fault,” Ted said, hurt and disappointed over this slight misunderstanding. Hurt because Eames actually let Arthur down by disappearing on this therapy session. Disappointed because he thought Eames would actually want to cooperate this time around.

 

“Yeah, well… Your alter ego promised me that he’ll actually show up to this therapy session. Ted, I skipped half a day’s work for this! Eames backing out is shit!” Arthur growled menacingly, his voice muffled by his hands. 

 

“Arthur, don’t take it too personally. This is really just typical Eames behavior. He likes to say some things, but never actually does any of them,” Ted replied, giving Arthur a rather understanding look.

 

Arthur peeked from underneath his hand and stared at Ted. He realized that lashing out on Ted wouldn’t solve anything. Besides, it wasn’t Ted’s fault that Eames backed out on his promise. That one was Eames and Eames alone.

 

“Sorry for ranting out,” Arthur murmured.

 

“Don’t be,” Ted said with a smile, knowing perfectly well where Arthur’s anger and frustration was coming from. “Perfectly understandable,” he continued.

 

Arthur managed to respond with a smile of his own. Just to show that he was harboring no ill feelings at him over this.

 

“You can’t make him come out?” Arthur asked, remembering the small bits of information Eames divulged to him yesterday. “Eames told me yesterday that he could force himself out from you.”

 

“I’m afraid not. Eames has greater willpower than me. He can easily overpower me in a heartbeat. I’ve tried that many times though. Unfortunately, none have worked so far.”

 

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how exactly do you know if he’s taking over you?”

 

“Well, the feeling is similar to you battling the urge to go to sleep. When I succumb to the feeling, I lose control of my body to Eames.”

 

“Oh,” Arthur said, digesting this new piece of information. “So basically, what you’re saying is that he could take over your body anytime he wants?”

 

“Yeah, pretty much,” Ted said with a shrug as he took a sip from his coffee. “Why? Do you have any new information that could help us today with the session today?” he asked.

 

Arthur took a moment to recall what Eames told him yesterday after the Brit nearly burned down his apartment. “Well, I’m not really sure if this is anything new, but Eames mentioned that he sort of talked to you.”

 

“Oh yes! He did!” Ted said, recognition appearing on his face. He took a small glance at Arthur’s questioning look and decided it would be beneficial for the architect’s sake to explain further. “It’s another one of those things that’s really hard to explain. See, I can always feel Eames’ presence within me. I know he’s always _there_ , but since we share the same body, we never get the chance to see each other face to face in reality. For some reason, we could contact each other in our subconscious, but it only works when the two parties involved are both agreeing to it.”

 

“Let me guess. You’ve been trying to contact Eames, but he never wants to meet up with you,” Arthur supplied, trying to connect dots together.

 

“Exactly,” Eames smiled sadly. “It has been almost twenty years since that last happened. Imagine my surprise that he decided to talk last Monday evening. I was thrilled!”

 

“Yeah, Eames did mention that he learned you cooked lunch for me that day,” Arthur said.

 

“I know, which is new,” Ted replied.

 

“What do you mean _new_?”

 

“Arthur,” Ted said as he turned his full attention to the other man sitting on the couch. “The only reason why Eames decided to contact me again for the longest time was to talk about you.”

 

Arthur’s only response to that confession was to blush.

 

“I’m serious Arthur,” Ted continued, noticing Arthur’s lack of a rebuttal. “Eames cares for you. I can genuinely tell. He wouldn’t contact me after so long if – Whoa!!!” Ted shouted as he bolted up from the sofa. The man stared down to see a small corgi barking at him excitedly.

 

“Tommy, you dumb mutt!” Arthur shouted as he scooped up the dog from the floor and glared at it. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop cozying up to Ted unexpectedly?! I’m sorry Ted,” he said to the grown man whose initial fright had died down.

 

“It’s perfectly fine Arthur,” Ted replied as he sat down on the chair. “Tommy just seems to like to pop out and snuggle unexpectedly. I’m not really big on pets in general,” he said with a sheepish smile. “I thought you weren’t also?” he asked Arthur as he cocked his head to the side.

 

“I’m not. Trust me Ted, if Eames wasn’t so adamant in keeping this stray, he would have gone straight to the shelter!” Arthur said as he carried Tommy into his bedroom and locked him inside. “You should have seen his look when I mentioned that I didn’t want a dog inside my house. I felt like he was going to kill me or something,” he told Ted as he came back into the living room.

 

“I’m sure he wouldn’t considering how he’s smitten over you,” Ted chuckled.

 

Arthur chose to not reply to that, but he couldn’t help but blush over it.

 

“So… Is this therapy session still going to happen?” Arthur asked as he sat down beside Ted and stared at Ted’s open laptop placed at the center of his coffee table. “I don’t really know how this is supposed to work. Ari didn’t even give me any pointers this morning. With her workload this week, bothering her at the office would result in my untimely death.”

 

Ted bellowed, a sound that Arthur was very familiar with by now.

 

 _At least someone thinks this whole situation is funny._ Arthur thought to himself as he chuckled. He really couldn’t help not to. When Ted bellows, it’s impossible not to join in.

 

“Anyway,” Ted said, after his laughing fit died down, “Even without Eames, I’m afraid we’re going to have to push through with the session. Well, with my therapist, it’d be nothing new. Eames, for some reason, doesn’t really like her. So ninety-five percent of the time he doesn’t talk to her.”

 

“Okay,” Arthur said. “You should lead though.”

 

Ted nodded and opened up Skype on his laptop. “Since I’m halfway across the country, Mal said we could continue our sessions through Skype.”

 

“Mal?” Arthur asked as he looked at Ted, confused.

 

“She’s my therapist. She’s half French, so she’s sort of feisty. Don’t tell her I told you that though,” Ted replied.

 

“Okay,” Arthur said as he waited uncomfortably with Ted for the woman on the other end to appear.

 

“Ahh Ted. It’s good to see you again! I take it this young man beside you is the Arthur you’ve been raving about?” a beautiful woman asked as her face appeared on the screen. Arthur noted that she had a rather thick accent to her.

 

“Yes Mal, this here is Arthur,” Ted said as he clapped Arthur on the shoulder.

 

“It’s nice to meet you Miss Mal,” Arthur replied a little too stiffly.

 

Mal blinked on the other end before succumbing into a fit of laughter.

 

 _Oh great._ Arthur thought. _Here’s another laughter._

 

“Please Arthur, it’s just Mal. You make me seem older than I am!” she chirped, looking absolutely amused on the other end.

 

“Oh. Okay,” Arthur replied, blushing a few shades of red in embarrassment.

 

“Anyway, Ted told me how you’re being a saint and letting him and Eames stay in your place for the week while Ariadne is busy with work. I know it’s not easy to live under the circumstances, but I do want to extend my gratitude in helping Ted and Eames out. I hope Eames isn’t giving you too much trouble though,” Mal said, looking seriously at Arthur.

 

“Oh he’s not too much trouble,” Arthur replied. _When he’s not actually here._

 

“That’s good to know!” Mal said with a smile before turning her attention back at Ted. “So Ted, has Eames recorded any videos for you this week?”

 

“Afraid not,” Ted said sadly.

 

“Videos?” Arthur asked, once again out of the loop.

 

“I’ve asked Ted to record video messages for Eames to keep him in the loop with what’s happening in their lives. It’s a popular method in dealing with D.I.D. Unfortunately, Eames doesn’t like to cooperate with therapy so I opted to have him try recording his thoughts in his own personal time as a compromise,” Mal explained.

 

“He’s never recorded a single video for you?” Arthur asked Ted.

 

“Oh he did. Once. It was a video of him having sex with a guy though. I was mortified afterwards,” Ted said as he shook his head in embarrassment.

 

Arthur slapped his forehead in indignation. _Why am I not surprised?_

 

“Well I think we all know that Eames is a troublemaker of sorts,” Mal said. “Has he shared anything new with you Arthur? Ted and Ari told me that he has opened up to you quite a bit these last few days.”

 

“I already told Ted about it a few minutes ago. I’m not really sure if it’s any new information though,” Arthur answered.

 

“Oh?” Mal said as her eyes twinkled. She leaned in closer the screen, “Do tell me more!”

 

 

-

 

 

**Thursday:**

 

Arthur oddly felt something wet brush up against his face. He didn’t mind it though, thinking he was still stuck in dreamland. But the second and third time it continued to happen, he was fairly certain it wasn’t a dream anymore. Arthur Hansen opened his eyes to spot a rather dubious corgi panting and barking at his face.

 

He wasn’t sure just how on earth exactly a corgi could become dubious, but he was sure being woken up by a corgi at fucking six in the morning probably was the deciding factor.

 

The little guy did it again as he approached Arthur’s half-woken face and licked his nose.

 

“Tommy…” Arthur groaned as he covered his face with the blanket covers. Tommy answered Arthur by barking and whining interchangeably. The architect thought if he ignored Tommy, the corgi would be able to take a hint and go away.

 

Of course like every little thing that happened in Arthur’s life in the last couple of days, they never go his way.

 

“Tommy! Stop bothering me!” Arthur snarled as he put down the covers again to face the dog.

 

Tommy replied by whining and barking towards the door.

 

“What the hell is your problem you dumb dog?” Arthur groaned with little patience as he glanced towards the direction of Tommy’s barking.

 

He found a bewildered looking Dom at the doorway, his best friend’s mouth also agape in shock. From what exactly? Arthur didn’t know. But it didn’t stop him from being unnerved.

 

“Dom? What are you doing here?” Arthur asked as he sat up a little straighter. As soon as he did that, Arthur felt arms uncoiling themselves from his waist and disappearing at the other side of the bed.

 

 _Oh shit._ Arthur thought as he looked at his left and found a rather peaceful looking Eames asleep. _Shit. This must be why Dom has that look_. Arthur turned his attention back at Dom, who was glaring at him with a combined expression of disgust, disbelief, and general what-the-fuckery.

 

“Dom, I can explain,” Arthur hastily replied, trying in vain to calm his friend down before he does anything drastic.

 

Actually, he wouldn’t be able to truly explain the situation since he had no clue why Eames suddenly moved from the couch towards his bed to sleep beside him. The fact that Eames actually cuddled Arthur didn’t help one bit.

 

“You and me in the living room. Now!” Dom barked before disappearing from the doorway. Tommy soon followed as he jumped off his bed in pursuit of the blonde, barking all the way.

 

Arthur sighed as he tried to formulate the most plausible lie for this obviously awkward situation since he did give his word to Ari to not tell anyone about Ted and Eames’ condition. And Arthur never goes back on his word.

 

He took one last glare at Eames as a way of saying that this was all his fault. Unfortunately, the man was out like a candle, not even bothered by Tommy’s incessant barking for the last couple of minutes. But for some weird reason, Arthur could’ve sworn Eames saw his glare because a knowing smile grew on the sleeping Brit’s face.

 

Arthur carefully crept out of the bed and shuffled his miserable ass into his living room to see Dom glaring at him with Eagle-like precision. Before he could offer any semblance of an explanation, Dom interrupted him.

 

“What the fuck Arthur? Okay. Clearly something is obviously wrong with you if you’re sleeping with Ari’s fiancé!”

 

“It’s not what it looks like Dom!” Arthur quickly replied, his voice rising in alarm and exasperation. But his friend was having none of it. Obviously.

 

“Does Ari know about this? That you’re sleeping with Ted? Jesus Christ Arthur!” Dom said, pacing the room while glaring at Arthur. He’s a great multi-tasker to be honest.

 

“I told you Dom, this isn’t what it looks like. That guy on my bed isn’t Ted,” Arthur answered, his temper rapidly building up.

 

“What? Don’t fucking tell me this is that imaginary British guy you were raving about last Saturday?” Dom sneered, “What was his name again? Oh yeah. Eames was it? Come on Arthur, I’m your best friend. The very least you can do is fucking tell me the truth!”

 

Arthur just stared at Dom, unsure of what to do since his friend was clearly not willing to listen to him explain anything at all. Instead, all he earned was a very judgmental and angry stare that Arthur was sure could possibly melt icecaps.

 

“You know what?” Arthur finally said as he walked past by Dom to get his cordless phone on the kitchen counter. “Why don’t we call Ari and finally straighten this whole mess up?” he asked Dom as he quickly dialed his coworker.

 

“Are you out of your freaking mind? She’s going to fucking kill you!” Dom shouted as he followed Arthur towards the coffee table in the middle of the living room.

 

Arthur ignored Dom with an intense roll of his eyes and quickly put the phone on speaker the very second it started ringing. He gently placed the phone on the coffee table with Dom standing across from him. He could see Dom looking at him nervously as they both waited for Ari to answer.

 

“Good morning Ari,” Arthur said flatly as he crossed his arms in impatience.

 

“Arthur, it is six in the morning. I am in the office because I had to pull an all nighter for work on these goddamn drawings and I just slept five minutes ago for a glorious two hour nap before the rest of the office comes here at eight so you better have a good reason to disrupt that small downtime I have, you hear me?” Ari hissed from the other end.

 

Both Arthur and Dom looked at each other briefly. Arthur was slightly amused at Ari’s state of mind considering he had been in her position too many times to count. Dom, on the other hand, was slightly taken aback at her behavior. He’s never seen or heard her this way.

 

“Uhh, hello Ari,” Dom murmured.

 

There was a momentarily pause on the other end of the line before Ari responded, “Dom? What are you doing in Arthur’s house? … At six in the morning?”

 

“He invaded my house,” Arthur said, shooting Dom a small, dark look in the process. “He uhh… caught me in bed with you-know-who.”

 

“Caught you in bed with who? Oh. _OH._ ”

 

“Yeah.” Arthur said as he looked at Dom.

 

“Ari, I think it’s time to tell Dom. I don’t think how you can keep this secret from him anymore considering he caught the two of us snuggling in my bed,” he added.

 

“What was he doing in your bed Ar-”

 

“Ari, focus!” Arthur snapped, shaking his head in embarrassment. He really didn’t want to get into why he was in bed with Eames - again.

 

“Can someone explain to me what’s going on?” Dom interrupted, not believing how Ari was so calm over the fact that he just caught Arthur and her fiancé in bed together. Like it was just another typical day among them.

 

“Okay, Dom… You need to listen to me. Uhh… how do I say this delicately?” Ari trailed off. “Dom, it may be hard to believe but Ted has Dissociative Identity Disorder. In layman’s terms, you could say he has a split personality.” There was a considerable pause before she continued, “And the guy who you saw in bed with Arthur isn’t Ted.”

 

Arthur rolled his eyes, knowing that only Eames had the gall to sneak into his bed when he specifically ordered him to sleep on the sofa bed in the living room.

 

“Wait a fucking minute!” Dom hollered, holding up his hand in the air in disbelief. “You’re joking. Tell me she’s joking,” he said as he looked at Arthur.

 

“She’s telling the truth,” Arthur replied seriously.

 

“Uh huh,” Dom said, still having a hard time believing this farce. “So I’m guessing this split personality is Eames, the British guy?” he asked Arthur after finally being able to connect a few dots in his head.

 

“Yes,” Arthur answered.

 

Dom stared at him briefly before suddenly bursting into laughter.

 

“Arthur… why is he laughing?” Ari asked over the phone.

 

“I think he’s gone insane. Dom, are you okay?” Arthur asked, grimacing over Dom’s potential breakdown.

 

“Look,” Dom said when his laughter died down, “this is just too hard to believe really. I mean come on, split personality? Come on. You’ve got to be shitting me! Have you both lost your fucking minds? Ari, the fact that Arthur slept with your fiancé probably has gotten your brains scrambled as well!”

 

“Dom, it is not-”

 

Dom put up his hand at Arthur’s hand to silence him. “Even if it were true, which honestly I am still skeptical with, that still doesn’t explain why he’s staying in your place and not in Ari’s?”

 

“Okay Dom,” Arthur sighed, “you better sit down because it’s a long story.”

 

And it was indeed a long story as Arthur and Ari took more than half an hour to explain to Dom the slightly strange arrangement between the four of them (since Ted and Eames were technically two separate people after all).

 

After their slightly exhausting explanation, Ari said goodbye, giving out the excuse that she needed more sleep before the office reopens in less than two hours. When she was gone, Arthur could tell from the man’s facial expressions (which were still darkly directed at him) that he still wasn’t having any of it. It wasn’t until Eames actually made a legit appearance that made Dom reconsider.

 

“Hey love, have you seen Tommy? The bloody pup wasn’t in the bedroom when I woke up this morning and I was thinking of taking him – Oh, hello. Friend of yours darling?” Eames asked Arthur as he strolled into the living room wearing nothing except blue boxers.

 

“Cut the bullshit Ted. Don’t think you can weasel your way out of this one by pretending to be another man you two-timing ass!” Dom said menacingly as he glared at the man.

 

“Arthur love, what on earth is this lunatic raving about?” Eames asked.

 

Arthur gently rubbed his forehead. He was already getting a headache from this morning’s debacle. “He thinks you’re Ted and you slept with me last night,” he finally answered.

 

“Well I am for one certainly not Ted and I certainly did not sleep with you last night. At least, not in the way you think I did,” Eames replied. “Why? Do you want to Arthur?”

 

Arthur responded to Eames’ open flirtatiousness with a scowl, “Eames, don’t you start! It’s too early in the morning for this! I’m already having a headache and I don’t need any of your charming flirtation right now!”

 

“Oh, so you think I’m charming don’t you love?” Eames asked back with a devilish grin.

 

Arthur’s glare intensified into a look of pure vitriol and shouted, “You fucking ditched me on yesterday’s therapy with Mal so you better stop with this lovey dovey shit because I am furious with you! If you don’t, I am going to drop Tommy in the shelter!”

 

Eames’ look of amusement on his face quickly drained before replacing it with something similar to Arthur’s. “You wouldn’t dare Arthur!” he scowled.

 

“Try me,” Arthur replied cooly.

 

“Holy. Shit.” Dom said, causing both Arthur and Eames to stop arguing and look at him. Both men momentarily forgot that the blonde was in the same room as them.

 

“What is it Dom?” Arthur asked.

 

“Fuck, Arthur. He’s real,” Dom replied as he pointed at Eames. He was sure of that now. He grew up with Arthur so he knows him better than anyone else, and his exchange with the other man just now confirmed that this man was not Ted, Ari’s gentleman of a fiancé.

 

“Yes Dom, please don’t remind him. He might end up spouting off more British slang than I would prefer,” Arthur snorted.

 

“Oh you wound me love!” Eames responded as he clutched his chest in mock pain. The Brit obviously forgot what he and Arthur just fought about.

 

“You and Ari were serious, weren’t you?” Dom asked Arthur, mouth wide open in shock and disbelief.

 

“We were.”

 

“Damn!” Dom replied before looking back at Eames.

 

“Anyway, Dom this is Eames. Eames, this is my best friend, Dom Cobb,” Arthur said, as he introduced the two with a small frown, not liking the idea that Dom was being dragged into this secret arrangement.

 

“Well, it took you long enough to introduce us _Arthur._ It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Eames said as he approached Dom and shook his hand. Dom was still speechless as he did so.

 

When Eames noticed that Dom wasn’t saying anything, he took it as a cue to continue. “I’m sure Arthur has told you lots of _lovely_ things about me,” Eames said slyly as he gave Arthur a cheeky grin before being interrupted by barking at his feet.

 

“Oh, Tommy there you are!” Eames happily said as he picked up the corgi and scratched its head.

 

Dom just looked at Eames stroking the dog. He was still busy processing that Ted and Eames were two people trapped in one body.

 

“Dom, are you okay?” Arthur asked from behind Eames. He was worried about Dom reacting to the situation.

 

Arthur’s question seemed to jolt Dom out of a daze because he stared at his best friend and angrily replied, “Of course not. I have a lot of questions! But first things first, why do you have a dog Arthur? I thought you _hated_ them.”

 

-0-0-

 

_Why don’t you sit right down and make me smile?_

_You make me feel like I am just a child_

_Why do you end it?_

_Just give me credit_

_I’m just sitting on the shelf_

_-_

_My[Tumblr](http://chasind.tumblr.com/)_


	6. Wait It Out

_Whole sentences in italics are a character’s thoughts in his/her head._

 

 ~~Beta-less, whee!~~ Beta-ed by a hard to please but disarmingly cute Nazi editor. ~~~~

 

-0-0-

 

** 06: Wait It Out (by Imogen Heap) **

 

_Where do we go from here?_

_How do we carry on?_

_I can’t get beyond the questions._

_Clambering for the scraps_

_In the shatter of us collapsed_

_It cuts me with every could-have-been_

-0-0-

**Friday:**

 

_This day couldn’t get any worse._

 

Arthur glared evilly at his desktop computer, which evidently finally decided to crash today. That means almost ninety percent of what he coordinated with his engineers and consultants within the week pretty much disappeared into thin air.

 

“Are you kidding me?” Arthur seethed as he slapped the sides of his monitor hoping that it would restart from his obvious frustration. _You can’t be serious!_

 

Arthur found it incredibly ironic that his computer would crash two hours before their server would automatically back-up his files. What even made the entire situation even more ironic was that he was the main reason their office even had a back-up server in the first place.

 

Ever since Arthur started working in the company, he and many other staff members had their shares of their computers suddenly crashing on a whim. This naturally resulted in huge losses of data and on more certain dire situations, people actually getting fired. So when human resources asked the office on a suitable way to organize and store files, Arthur, being the natural, inquisitive fellow that he is, researched a possible answer. A few days later, he presented the idea of having a server wherein a separate computer would automatically back-up all the files created within the week by every single computer in the office. That way, should a computer crash, a person may be able retrieve the last backed up files the server stored last Friday. A couple of days after his proposal, the office followed through with his suggestion. He also managed to get a nice bonus from his boss, Saito himself.

 

It was just terrible luck that his computer wasn’t able to reach the prescribed hour of the office back up.

 

 _Really just plain old, terrible luck indeed,_ Arthur thought as he slapped his forehead in exasperation. He was not looking forward to redrawing every single thing that he discussed with his engineers this past week.

 

 _Then again, it could have been even more utterly tragic._ Arthur thought as he slowly sneaked a peek from underneath his palms to stare at his casually dressed (it was casual Friday after all) female friend from across the room.

 

It could have happened to Ari. Given her crucial deadline this week, _I’m pretty sure she would have a nervous breakdown should it come to that_ , he said in his head as he watched Ariadne busy herself with trying to meet her deadline by Monday.

 

He only managed a short conversation with her this morning and found out that she would most likely be coming back to the office tomorrow morning to finish. She couldn’t afford to have another sleepover in the office tonight given the fact that she just had one last Wednesday evening.

 

Arthur continued staring at his friend who was now fighting again with Lester. _For some reason,_ Arthur thought, _those two seem to be at each other’s throats - more so lately._

 

With Ari being the head of the project and Lester her on hand draftsman, one would think that they should be working harmoniously together. But no, all Arthur’s sees is Ari barking at Lester. Not that he blames her for doing so. Lester is somewhat incompetent to put it nicely.

 

A sudden ring behind him interrupted Arthur’s train of thought. He actually gave a small jump in total surprise. He turned and momentarily stared at his desk phone. He grimaced at the thought of Saito on the other end of the line. He couldn’t really afford to face his boss right now considering his computer deserted him.

 

With a small prayer, Arthur picked up the receiver and said, “Arthur Hansen speaking. How can I help you?”

 

“Darling?” the voice on the other end of the line cooed.

 

Arthur couldn’t help but frown at that. Out of all the people, the last person he expected to call him in his goddamn office was Eames.

 

 _Jesus Christ. Even at work, he hounds me!_ Arthur silently cursed as he settled down on his chair. He was pretty sure that whenever Eames is concerned, it usually meant trouble. Sitting down helped brace Arthur for whatever the Brit may want.

 

“Eames, what do you want?” Arthur asked flatly over the phone. Not a second later, he slightly stiffened in his chair as he suddenly realized something.

 

“Wait a minute, how the hell did you manage to get this number?” he asked quickly, alarmed over the fact that he never discussed or mentioned to Eames his personal extension line in the office.

 

_I’m pretty sure I never showed him my business card._

 

“Oh well, I sort of found your business card in your room,” Eames replied, matter-of-factly.

 

“What?” Arthur asked, not remembering leaving any of his business cards openly in his room. _Wait – Don’t tell me…_ “Eames,” Arthur growled softly, “did you go rummaging through my stuff again?”

 

Eames merely scoffed on the other end. “Darling, you make it sound so criminal!” he answered back. Arthur was pretty sure he could see Eames rolling his eyes as he gave out that response.

 

“Eames!” Arthur barked as he tried to muffle his growing anger through the phone by covering it with his other hand. “I told you to stop going through my belongings!” he whispered, menacingly.

 

“Aww come on love, I was bored in your apartment. What was I supposed to do?” the other man replied, his voice laced with a hint of discontentment.

 

Arthur groaned. _I swear this man has no sense of personal boundaries whatsoever._ The only thing that’s getting him going was that this arrangement was soon coming to an end. _Just two more days. Just two more days._ Arthur chanted in his head. If he had to extend keeping Eames in his apartment any more than that, Arthur was sure he’d jump off a building in protest.

 

The architect noticed that there was no response from Eames’ end, causing him to wonder if the Brit hung up on him.

 

“Eames, you there?” Arthur asked over the strange silence while subconsciously tilting his chair backwards (a habit he never got to let go). He repeated his question again when he noticed that Eames wasn’t answering, “Eames, are you still there?”

 

There was still an air of silence until Eames finally responded, “I’m naked and I’m horny”.

 

That answer nearly _kicked_ Arthur off his chair. He knew Eames calling him at work wouldn’t be technically good news, but this was just ridiculous.

 

“Eames! What the fuck?!” Arthur snarled once he finally managed to calm down not only himself, but also his chair. “Are you serious right now?” he added, his voice not louder than a whisper. The last thing he needed right now was someone eavesdropping on this absurd piece of conversation.

 

“Arthur, I’m bloody serious,” Eames whined over the receiver, while some sort of fapping sound permeated in the background.

 

 _Oh my god. He is not doing what I think he’s doing!_ Arthur screamed inside his head.

 

“Well, what the fuck do you want from me then?” Arthur hissed, head shaking in disapproval over this situation.

 

There was a short window of silence before Eames coyly replied, “What are you wearing?”

 

At that point, Arthur wanted nothing more than to scream and shout at the Brit over how inappropriate it was for him to be engaging in fucking phone sex right now. He couldn’t really do that of course, since he was stuck in his small, very public cubicle at work.

 

“No,” Arthur answered back, tone devoid of any semblance of amusement.

 

 _Hell to the fucking no am I going to be a phone sex operator_!

 

“Aww come on love, I’m already starting here!” Eames whined as he let out a very long groan of ecstasy. Arthur had to cover his earpiece because the sound of Eames masturbating to him was distracting, not to mention, just plain disturbing.

 

“Look,” Arthur said a few minutes later, “I am not going to tell you what I am wearing so you just have to think of another way to indulge your little sexual fantasy!”

 

And it was after that, Arthur heard a small cough from behind him.

 

 _Holy shit._ Arthur’s entire body froze up after being suddenly interrupted. Eames was still rambling on the phone, but Arthur’s attention was diverted otherwise.

 

 _Oh my god._ Arthur thought helplessly as he felt a bead of sweat slowly trickling down his neck. _Please let it not be him. Please oh please oh please!_ Arthur silently repeated as he turned around to face the source of that very distinctive cough.

 

Earlier, Arthur Hansen thought his day couldn’t get any worse. Seeing his boss glaring at him from outside his cubicle pretty much squashed that notion altogether.

 

Saito was dressed in his well-tailored business suit while clutching a bunch of papers that Arthur assumed was for him. The young architect was certain his boss heard what he just said over the phone and couldn’t even begin to think of how his boss would react. Arthur couldn’t fathom how to accurately describe Saito’s expression directed at him. But one thing was for certain; his boss certainly wasn’t fucking around.

 

“Si- sir! Good afternoon!” Arthur stammered as he swiftly hung up on Eames. He was sure he was going to hear about this when he sees Eames later at home, but right now, Eames could just go and fuck himself.

 

Saito exchanged passive glances between Arthur and his phone, which made Arthur even more nervous.

 

“Is there anything you need sir?” Arthur laughed nervously as he stood up to formally acknowledge his boss. The last thing he needs right now is a memo or worse, a job vacancy because of sexual promiscuity.

 

Saito finally focused his gaze back at Arthur, causing the other man to fidget. “These are some responses from our client regarding a possible redesign of their bathroom,” he said as he shoved the papers into Arthur’s hands. “I want you to go over them and cross reference them with the as-built drawings. After that, I need an update which of these designs we can still accommodate onsite,” he added as he now shifted his gaze towards the phone.

 

“Uhh, yes sir! Right away sir!” Arthur said as he grabbed the papers from Saito who began to walk away.

 

“Holy shit!” Arthur sighed as he sat down in his chair. He let out a huge sigh of relief, thankful that his boss didn’t mention anything of what he heard over the phone.

 

 _Thank god_. Arthur thought as he let out a huge sigh of relief over escaping what could have been a really embarrassing experience. He turned his chair towards his computer to start on his little assignment only to realize that his computer crashed on him just a few moments ago.

 

_Guess Saito must have fried my brains more than I thought he would._

 

“Oh, and Arthur.”

 

Arthur jumped in his chair as his thoughts were again interrupted for a second time. He swiveled his chair around and found Saito leering at him from behind his cubicle partition.

 

“After you’re done with that, we’re going to have a little chat on office etiquette - _most especially_ phone etiquette,” Saito flatly emphasized before walking off towards his enclosed office, leaving a bewildered and traumatized Arthur alone.

 

_Well shit._

 

 

-

 

 

**Saturday:**

 

Arthur finally came to a conclusion that he was worried.

 

It should be the perfect Saturday morning for Arthur. The weather was close to perfect – getting that perfect balance of heat and humidity. He had no major work obligations to ponder and fuss over. Hey, he could sleep the entire day away and not worry about anything, which to Arthur’s mind was the quintessential perfect weekend. So it was a huge disappointment for him to realize that because he had a man suffering from D.I.D. as a roommate, well – let’s say that kind of ruined things.

 

Arthur prodded his bacon and eggs without any general interest as his thoughts drifted away from his breakfast. Today was Ted/Eames’ last day in his apartment, so technically, he should be really facing this Saturday morning with much enthusiasm and excitement.

 

He should.

 

But, something happened last night with Eames - something that unsettled him deeply. And that’s what was making this Saturday to be anything but perfect.

 

Arthur didn’t really know what to make of what happened. He figured it’d be best to bring it up later with Mal in this afternoon’s therapy session.

 

“Hey love, I’m off!” a voice called beside him.

 

 _Fuck!_ Arthur cursed in his head as he slightly jumped. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice Eames standing beside him.

 

“Eames, where on earth are you going dressed like that?” Arthur asked as he stopped poking at his eggs to stare at the Brit. Eames was wearing black sweatpants and a grey hoodie while clutching Tommy in his arms.

 

_Is he going to rob a bank? With a dog?_

 

“I’m going out for a run love,” Eames said as he purposely stretched in front of Arthur, with Tommy barking enthusiastically in Eames’ arms.

 

“Huh,” Arthur snorted, trying desperately to not find anything remotely cute about Eames stretching with a corgi. He had to look away immediately. The scene was tugging something in his chest for some reason.

 

Honestly, he really shouldn’t allow Eames to go out and run. _Apparently_ , that was a stern order from Ari.

 

 _A very peculiar order at that,_ Arthur noted. I mean, _what harm could Eames do during a morning jog? Besides, it’d be nice to have some peace and quiet after what transpired yesterday._

 

“Go ahead,” Arthur finally replied as he shooed Eames and Tommy out of the door. Eames simply smiled at him as he stepped into the elevator, waving back at Arthur in response.

 

_Good riddance! Finally, some peace and quiet!_

 

It took Arthur about seven hours later to figure out that he should have listened to Ari’s little piece of advice.

 

“Where the hell is he?” Arthur growled to no one in particular in his apartment. He chanced a glance on his wall clock and scowled, “It’s almost three in the afternoon. Does it really take seven fucking hours for him to jog?!”

 

He had to admit it. He got duped by Eames… again. And if there’s one thing Arthur doesn’t like is to be bested at something. Eames was far too crafty and sly than he gave credit for. The Brit surely had a dozen things up his sleeve to avoid talking to Mal.

 

Speaking of Mal…

 

Arthur sat down on the living room couch and logged on to Ted’s Skype account. He better break the news to her that this session was another no-go. He was slightly anxious. He wasn’t sure just how Mal would react to this as his short interaction with her last Wednesday, he felt that she had a fiery temper stored somewhere in there. Arthur was hoping that he wouldn’t be able to witness that anytime soon.

 

“Hi Mal,” he said as soon as the therapist answered the phone call.

 

“Arthur! It’s good to see you!” she replied, then squinting her eyes. “It looks like we’re missing someone,” she added, when she noticed that Ted nor Eames was in the shot.

 

Arthur sighed. “Yeah, that’s the thing… Eames sort of took off.”

 

“Took off?” Mal asked, voice laced with unabashed concern. “What do you mean?”

 

“He went for a jog,” Arthur simply said, as if that was a reasonable explanation already.

 

Mal just blinked before bursting into a giggle fit. Arthur shook his head in disbelief.

 

_Of course she knew all about his jogging stint._

 

“Didn’t Ariadne give you any pointers at all?” Mal asked, eyes lit with amusement.

 

“She did, but for some reason, my brain was stupid enough to disregard her advice,” Arthur replied, embarrassed.

 

“First things first Arthur, always follow her advice with regards to Ted and Eames. She’s been dealing with those two for some time now to know a few of Eames’ antics,” Mal clarified, as she smiled at Arthur’s gullibility.

 

“Believe me, I know that now,” Arthur said, slapping his palm against his forehead. “I’m just frustrated about this entire situation. Ari and Ted expected me to get some answers and all I’ve been getting from Eames is one headache after the other.”

 

Mal shook her head. “Arthur, it’s not your fault. I’m sure that Ari and Ted wouldn’t hold it against you. The fact that you were willing to let Eames to stay with you for a week shows just how much you care and I’m sure they both know that. Eames always marches to the beat of his own drum,” she explained, giving Arthur a sympathetic smile.

 

Arthur still wasn’t very convinced. “I don’t know… I just feel like I’m like sort of living in a United States of Tara world right now,” he sighed.

 

Mal simply smiled at that as she gave Arthur ample time to calm down. “So, let’s talk about you for a minute. How is living with Eames been treating you? I mean, other than the headaches?”

 

“Frustrating, annoying, crazy,” Arthur trailed off.

 

Mal looked at Arthur in the eyes. “But?” she asked, figuring there was more to the story.

 

“I don’t know… Sometimes he’s nice company, I guess,” Arthur shrugged. He noted that Mal nodded to his statement.

 

“He is a charmer when he wants to be,” Mal replied after awhile.

 

The room entered an awkward silence as Arthur’s gaze darted around the room. He debated whether or not to tell Mal over what happened late last night.

 

_I really should though. She is her therapist after all… But is telling her without Ted and Eames’ knowledge sort of going behind their back? How the fuck is this supposed to work out anyway?_

 

“Arthur, is there anything wrong?” Mal asked Arthur when she noticed that he was spacing out.

 

Arthur’s gaze went back to her. _I really should tell her._

 

“Uhh, something happened with Eames last night,” he muttered.

 

“You sound worried,” Mal noted as she began scribbling on a small piece of notepad beside her.

 

“Yeah, it was sort of disturbing,” Arthur continued. Mal simply stared back, subconsciously urging him to continue.

 

“Go ahead,” she gently prodded.

 

“Well,” Arthur trailed off, not really sure how to put it into words. “He had some sort of nightmare last night.”

 

“Okay,” Mal said, not missing a beat. “You sure this is Eames and not Ted?” she asked.

 

“Positive. He had a British accent while thrashing about last night,” he explained.

 

“Go on. Why were you disturbed so much over this nightmare he had?”

 

“Well, he was shouting in his sleep. Woke me up in the middle of the night. He kept shouting for someone to stop and leave him alone. I tried waking him up but when I touched him, he shouted even louder,” Arthur said, still pretty much stricken over how Eames’ voice last night sounded like despair. “You should have heard him… It was really awful. Whatever nightmare he had, I could tell it was nothing but painful.”

 

Mal’s gaze darkened over Arthur’s explanation as she hastily scribbled notes down.

 

“What?” he asked her, feeling that she knew that this was some sort of a regular occurrence in Eames’ life.

 

She put her notepad away before replying to him. “Arthur, I think you should know this… Eames has been to the hospital many, many times.”

 

Arthur simply blinked, not following her train of thought.

 

“He has tried to kill himself. Many times in fact,” she said.

 

That explanation nearly knocked the wind out of Arthur’s lungs. He wasn’t expecting that from a mile.

 

 _Eames tried to kill himself? How can that be possible? It can’t be,_ Arthur thought. He couldn’t imagine that Eames with his entire happy go lucky disposition actually wanting to end his life. It was a disturbing train of thought. Ted and Eames’ situation was even grimmer than he expected. Obviously, there was more to the situation than meets the eye.

 

Mal gently looked at him, noting how distraught Arthur was over what she just revealed. _This man cares for Eames. He can deny it all he wants, but he does._

 

 

“He what?” Arthur asked, trying to process that very crucial piece of information.

 

“I’m not really going to give any specifics because it would probably give yourself a few nightmares, but it’s absolutely true. Ted has woken up many times in the hospital, mind drawing a blank each time. He was admitted many times in a psych ward too. Eames has many times tried to end both his and Ted’s life,” she explained. “I’ve dealt with many people suffering from D.I.D. and this is the first case that I’ve handled when the alternate personality tried to end his life. In most normal cases – well as normal as D.I.D. cases go anyway, the alternate personality comes out because he wants to exist in this world. But Eames is the exact opposite.”

 

“That’s why Ted is so adamant in finding out answers from Eames,” Arthur interrupted her as he managed to connect the dots. “He wants to know why Eames is trying to kill himself,” he whispered. Mal simply nodded over his assessment.

 

_Fuck. Eames… What is wrong with you?_

 

 

-0-0-

 

_Everybody says that time heals everything_

_What of the wretched hollow, the endless in between?_

_Are we just going to wait it out?_

_Sit here, just going to wait it out_

_Sit here cold, just going to sweat it out_

_Wait it out_


	7. I Know You Care

_archWhole sentences in italics are a character’s thoughts in his/her head._

 

 ~~Beta-less, whee!~~ Flawless.

 

 

-0-0-

 

** 07: I Know You Care (by Ellie Goulding) **

 

_But there is trouble ahead I can feel it_

_You were just saving yourself when you hide it_

_Yeah I know you care_

_I see it in the way that you stare_

_As if there was trouble ahead and you knew it_

_I’ll be saving myself from the ruin_

_And I know you care_

-0-0-

_Well this is it._

 

Arthur stared at his living room, more specifically at the man crouching down in front of the television. Ted was surrounded by a staggering amount of clothes. He was busy packing the rest of his things as today was officially the last day he would be staying at Arthur’s apartment. Arthur could plainly see Tommy jumping into Ted’s luggage and snuggling himself in Ted’s clothes. He laughed over Ted playfully scolding the corgi as he carried him out of his luggage case and onto the floor. That didn’t deter the small dog as it only invigorated him to jump in again causing Ted to shake his head with even more fervor while making Arthur laugh a little louder than before.

 

“Arthur, is there any way for you to keep Tommy still?” Ted asked from the floor as he gave Arthur a pleading glance, causing Tommy to simply bark wildly as if he understood what Ted just said. “I’m afraid if this keeps up, I’ll never get the packing done and be able to meet Ari in the mall in a couple of minutes. And you know how she is with deadlines,” he continued.

 

Arthur did, in fact, know what Ari was like with deadlines. His friend made it a point to be always on time. _Always_. He once asked her about it and all he got was a brutally long sermon on her upbringing and work ethic (she did after all, sleep in the office thrice this week to meet her deadline). One time, he decided to test this theory out and shamelessly arrived half an hour late during dinner with her and he never got to hear the end of it.

 

In fact, the only time he ever recalled her being late was two Saturdays ago during their engagement party. But that time was understandable since they were having a session with Mal that morning.

 

Now, however, he didn’t have any real good reason for he and Ted to be late – unless Eames made an appearance and caused some sort of debauchery. Not that he was hoping for that to happen.

 

Arthur placed his teacup in the sink and walked across the room. “Come on little guy, let’s give Ted some space to pack,” he told Tommy as he picked the small dog in his arms. Arthur chuckled when he heard Tommy whine as he hoisted him up. The little dog continued doing so even in his arms, which Arthur found absolutely adorable.

 

“Now now,” he added as he raised the puppy even higher so they were at eye-to-eye level with each other. “Tommy, you need to listen to me. Trust me, you don’t want to see your Aunt Ari angry.” Tommy acknowledged the request with a small whimper before barking in what Arthur deemed as an agreement. He laughed, “That’s a good boy!” he said before bumping noses with the dog.

 

From the corner of his eye, he could see Ted staring at him with a bemused expression. Feeling a bit self-conscious, Arthur lowered Tommy against his chest and turned his attention back at Ted. “Is there a problem?” he asked Ted.

 

Ted exchanged glances between Arthur and Tommy. “I thought you didn’t like dogs?” he asked Arthur with a smile, as if he caught Arthur in a rather compromising position.

 

“I don’t,” Arthur answered a little _too_ quickly, feeling like he had been _indeed_ caught in a very compromising position. He instinctively tightened his grip on Tommy, fearing that somehow Ted was going to take him away.

 

“Your tightened hold on Tommy suggests otherwise,” Ted pointed out, still beaming.

 

 _Smart-ass,_ Arthur cursed.

 

“I don’t really… well, it’s weird. I thought I didn’t. When Tommy first came in, I couldn’t stand him. But I don’t know… sometime over the week, I slowly warmed up to the little dipshit,” Arthur explained. Both men didn’t miss Tommy glancing up at Arthur and barking viciously at him, no doubt because of Arthur calling him vulgar names. Ted and Arthur simply laughed at that.

 

“For a dog, he’s kind of smart and adorable,” Arthur continued as soon as his laughter died down. Tommy barked in recognition to which Arthur simply raised his eyebrows. “Sometimes a little too smart if you ask me.”

 

“I’m not a big fan of dogs, but even I have to admit that he is quite adorable,” Ted said as he gave Tommy a small, sincere smile. “You should thank him.”

 

Even though Ted never mentioned a name, Arthur perfectly knew whom he was talking about.

 

“But you won’t,” Ted added with a sad smile. He was about to say more, but when he noticed Arthur’s shoulders slightly stiffening over his remark, he decided to drop it. Instead, he turned his attention back to his suitcases to begin packing again.

 

Arthur frowned. He didn’t appreciate Ted’s last remark. He wanted to protest violently over the man’s presumption. But he couldn’t, because in his heart he knew that it was true. He wouldn’t thank Eames for bringing Tommy into his life because then it would somehow validate the fact that he wasn’t in control with his life as he thought he was. That somehow he was having affection for Tommy.

 

So even though Ted was completely right about that small observation, it still didn’t stop Arthur from feeling like shit. He was about to give Ted a piece of his mind too when he suddenly felt something trickle down the front of his shirt and pants.

 

“What the hell?” Arthur shouted in surprise as he lifted Tommy higher above his head to determine what was it he felt drip down his torso. He could see a very long, yellowish stain running down his dress shirt. He paled at the sight, slowly looking up to Tommy who was barking at his face.

 

“Are you kidding me?!” he snarled, Tommy still raised well above his head. He caught Ted repressing a laugh down on the floor. “Don’t you dare,” he snapped as his eyes suddenly locked onto Ted’s. The other man simply raised his arms in mock surrender, still very much refraining from suddenly bursting into laughter.

 

“Goddammiticantbelievethisfuckingdogjustpeedonmyshirtiswearthisiscertainlynotwhatisignedupforjesuschristthisiswhyidonotdopetsforcryingoutloud,” Arthur hastily muttered to himself as he dragged his sorry ass into his bedroom. The moment he closed his bedroom door, he distinctively heard a large, booming laugh from beyond the door.

 

Arthur shook his head in annoyance as he walked deeper into his room. Lost in a silent curse aimed at both Ted and Tommy, he intended to put the corgi down on his bed so he could grab something to wear from his closet. At the very last second he quickly hesitated as he suddenly remembered that Tommy just peed on him. Instead of the bed, Arthur let him down on the floor while completely ignoring the little dog’s whimpered pleas.

 

Tommy sat down and whimpered at him while flashing him some really major puppy-dog eyes.

 

 _Oh no. That is not going to work on me!_ Arthur thought as he crossed his arms to reinforce his stance on his decision, causing Tommy to whine even louder.

 

“Well I’m not giving you a chance to pee on my bed Tommy,” Arthur, while wagging his finger at the dog, replied. Tommy simply howled and faced away, obviously displeased that his puppy-dog stare didn’t work on the architect.

 

 _Great Arthur, you’ve completely gone bonkers! You’re actually talking out loud to a dog now_!

 

Arthur shook the thought away as he spent a good ten minutes deciding on the next best shirt he could wear. As soon as he got changed, he grabbed the dirty shirt and stepped back out to the living room.

 

“Oh. Ted, that was fast!” Arthur said in surprise as he looked at the man on the floor with his suitcase shut well tight. _Gee, ten minutes ago all of his clothes were all over the floor. Did he use magic or something?_ He was about to walk towards Ted, but he was beat by Tommy who suddenly sprinted from within his bedroom, almost knocking Arthur off his feet in the process. The small dog was barking happily as he leapt into Ted’s arms and licked the man’s face.

 

“Aww Tommy, stop that. I don’t want to take another bloody shower!” the man laughed as he tried to get the dog away from his face.

 

_Okay, so it wasn’t Ted._

 

“Eames?” Arthur asked, a bit taken aback as he still hasn’t gotten used to the man transitioning from one personality to another in a split second.

 

“Good morning darling,” Eames replied while petting Tommy on the head. The Brit gave the American a toothy grin.

 

“What are you doing here? Where’s Ted?” Arthur asked Eames, undisturbed over Eames’ charming and arresting smile. He went to his couch and sat down on the far end away from the other man.

 

“Oh I asked Ted if it’s okay to spend the morning with you.”

 

Arthur just stared at him. “Why?”

 

“Because… it’s my last morning with you, so I’d really want to spend the rest of it with you as much as possible,” Eames answered grimly with a sad smile.

 

The answer took Arthur by surprise. Not because of its content, but more of how genuine it came across. It took him by so much surprise that it left Arthur quite speechless.

 

“Uh, that’s nice,” Arthur finally responded, after figuring out that he had been rendered silent for a couple of awkward minutes. He flashed Eames a rather shy smile, more from the fact that he was embarrassed over the thought of him giving Eames a smile rather than being touched by Eames’ remark.

 

Eames blinked at him before bursting into a huge laugh – one that would have rivaled Ted’s bellow. “Oh Arthur,” Eames said as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. “You are a bloody, terrible liar, did you know that? I know you can’t wait to get rid of me, so at least let me live in the illusion that you somehow enjoy my presence. I know for a fact you can’t stand me,” he continued before giving him an apologetic smile.

 

But what he said was partially true though. Somehow, throughout this entire ordeal, Arthur enjoyed Eames’ company - on sparing occasions take note. But still – he did enjoy the company. He frowned at how Eames easily read him like an open book and how quick the Brit was to jump to conclusions.

 

And the worse part of it all was how Eames was thoroughly convinced with his perception of Arthur.

 

 

-

 

 

“I hate the mall,” Eames muttered as he glared at the people they were passing by. He was not in the mood to be dealing with strangers this early in the morning.

 

“I know Eames. You’ve told me that several times in the last five minutes since we’ve arrived,” Arthur said, with a roll of his eyes. His tone was still annoyed and clipped, but was free from his usual display of contempt and disdain. Arthur was unaware of that particular change, but Eames certainly did not.

 

In fact, the Brit saw a change in Arthur in his weeklong stay with him. Ever since their scuffle over that disastrous dinner, he noticed that Arthur was a bit more patient with him – because saying that he was a lot more patient was already an extreme exaggeration. Arthur still snaps and grumbles and rolls his eyes a lot at the Brit, but Eames definitely noticed that he didn’t yell or shout anymore whenever he was pissed. And Eames was grateful for that.

 

“It’s just so tacky,” Eames answeed back as he and Arthur continued walking into another section of the mall. He really, really, really did not like this place. But Ariadne wanted to meet here, so he couldn’t really do anything about it. He remembered Arthur mentioning on the way about her sleeping in the office last night, but he pretty much spaced out after that.

 

_So in a nutshell, I’m fucking clueless as to why we are meeting her in a mall right before noon. The travesty!_

 

His pace was calculated, purposely a few steps behind the architect, trying to delay meeting up with Ariadne as much as possible. He chanced a glance at Arthur walking in front of him and admired the confidence and form the architect exuded. He never had a connection with anyone before – and although his relationship with Arthur was an odd, delicate and often turbulent one, he was still grateful.

 

_And I’m certainly going to miss that amazing arse of his._

“Hey Eames,” Arthur said without stopping or turning around.

 

“Huh?” Eames said, eyes looking up from Arthur’s arse.

 

“Stop ogling my ass,” the other man replied morosely.

 

Eames momentarily stopped, shocked and amused that Arthur caught him staring at his arse. When the shock wore off, he couldn’t help but laugh as he tried to pick up the pace with Arthur’s stride. “And how did you know that I was admiring your beautiful behind pet?”

 

Arthur stopped walking causing Eames to stop as well. The Brit was grinning as he braced himself for a reaction from the other man; however, what transpired was something he certainly didn’t expect.

 

Arthur, stick-in-the-mud Arthur glanced backwards and was grinning back at him. Eames expected the other man to have some sort of witty comeback or some semi-violent reaction, but he would have never guessed Arthur would be remotely amused with Eames.

 

 _Did I finally crack him?_ Eames wondered.

 

“Please Eames. Like that was a hard guess,” Arthur chuckled, shaking his head before walking off, leaving Eames to ponder… alone… in the middle of the hallway.

 

 _Huh. It’s either Arthur has bloody D.I.D. as well and that this quite, agreeable person in front of me is his alter or I’m fucking going mental_.

 

“Eames! We’re gonna be late!” Arthur called out upfront, irritation already seeping.

 

 _And there’s the Arthur I know so well_. Eames snorted to himself before jogging up to catch up with the other man.

 

“Indulge me why you parked so far from wherever we’re supposed to be meeting Ariadne now, love,” Eames said as he slowed down from his jog to match his pace with Arthur’s.

 

“You weren’t really listening to what I said on the way here, were you?” Arthur asked him, eyes narrowing at the Brit. The American should have known than for Eames to pay attention when he’s talking about Ari. He really does not like her.

 

Eames cocked his head to the side as he pondered on just how he was supposed to exactly answer Arthur’s question without offending him. It’s a good thing Arthur decided to end his misery by answering his own question.

 

Arthur rolled his eyes over Eames’ very short attention span. “If you were listening earlier, you would know that Ari slept in the office again last night to meet her deadline. She figured it would be less of a hassle to meet you here instead of going to my apartment since this is closer to the office. And before you even decide to butt in (Eames was about to interrupt but quickly closed his mouth at that), she was the one who decided to meet you in coffee shop that is placed in the center of the mall,” Arthur explained as he glared at the Brit as if daring him to say anything against what he said.

 

And Eames would have too, but something caught the Brit’s eye. His gaze shifted away from Arthur onto that colorful presence a few yards behind the architect. His breath quickly picked up, leaving him gasping for air. He didn’t see Arthur looking at him strangely.

 

“Eames? Are you okay?” Arthur asked, worried.

 

His response to Arthur’s question was him clutching his chest as he felt air escaping his lungs.

 

_Fuck. Not now… Please. Not in front of Arthur!_

 

It wasn’t until he crouched down on the stone floor that had Arthur sprinting up towards him.

 

“Eames! What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Arthur asked, frantic with worry as he crouched down and looked at Eames’ face for a reply. He couldn’t answer of course. With the lack of oxygen, the Brit was having a difficult time comprehending just what Arthur was asking him. All he could see was Arthur’s lips moving and eyebrow twitching in panic. But he couldn’t hear anything.

 

“Fuck, Eames. What’s going on?!” Arthur asked him again, his voice rising in fright. The smaller man wrapped his arm around Eames and began soothing and patting his back as a last ditch effort of calming the Brit down. “Eames, you’re scaring me!” Arthur cried out as he took Eames’ trembling hand in his own.

 

He took this chance to look at Arthur and wasn’t able to shake away the feeling of disgust and overwhelming shame. The emotions displayed in the American’s face were tearing Eames apart. He couldn’t believe that he was capable of worrying Arthur to the point of hysterics.

 

_He hated it._

_But he hated himself even more._

 

Eames could see a small sea of shadows and figures moving around Arthur and himself. He was sure people around them noticed the precarious circumstance the two of them found themselves in. He couldn’t hear them though, but he was pretty sure they were muttering and asking Arthur what was wrong with him.

 

_Oh fuck no!_

 

He suddenly jerked causing Arthur to shout in surprise. His gaze now completely fixated on something else. He felt Arthur’s grip on his hand starting to loosen.

 

“No, don’t let go,” he whispered hoarsely as he looked on, his attention focused on something behind Arthur.

 

“Hey, hey. I’m here Eames. I’m not going to leave you,” Arthur whispered back, his grip on Eames’ hand tightening. He was desperate to let Eames know that he was here and that he wasn’t going to let him go. The American noticed that Eames wasn’t looking at him, but at something behind him. Eyebrows twitching in confusion, Arthur turned around and blinked before turning his attention back at the Brit.

 

_Is he… I mean… Could Eames really be-_

 

Arthur’s train of thought was interrupted when he felt Eames gasping uncontrollably. And he knew just what he had to do.

 

“Hey Eames. I need you to look at me. Come on Eames, look at me – there you go. Now don’t look anywhere else. Focus on me and only my voice okay? You’re going to be fine. I promise you I’m not going to let anyone hurt you okay? You need to trust me okay?” Arthur frantically explained, gripping Eames’ hand even tighter. He was bullshitting really. But desperate times call for desperate measures and well, it did sort of calm Eames down.

 

Eames’ breathing slowly found a steady rhythm as he continued to stare at Arthur who was mouthing off on promises that everything will be better. Seeing the serene yet determined expression on the other man’s face helped - a lot. He wasn’t aware that he was slowly relaxing until he saw Arthur smile back at him in frustrated relief.

 

“Alright. See? It’s going to be fine,” Arthur whispered as he gripped Eames by the neck and pulled him closer. “We’re going to be fine Eames, you hear me?”

 

Eames nodded in reply, his voice still not cooperating. Arthur smiled again at that before he glanced behind him. “Come on, let’s get out of here. We’re creating a scene,” he said as he hoisted Eames up to his feet and gently told crowd that everything was going to be okay.

 

When Arthur gently guided him out of the area, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed. He realized that Arthur perfectly knew what had caused him to have a panic attack. He was pretty sure the American was going to ask him about him later. And he couldn’t help but let out a silent groan at that.

 

“Arthur, promise me you won’t tell anyone,” Eames muttered with so much angst.

 

“Eames, I-”

 

“Promise me. Please.”

 

Eames caught Arthur carefully studying him. “Okay, I promise,” the American said with enough angst to match the Brit.

 

Eames sighed with relief.

 

You see, for the Brit, he hated clowns even more than the mall.

 

 

-

 

 

“Hey Arthur, what are you getting? I’m calling the waiter already as I’m really hungry,” Dom told his best friend

 

“I don’t know yet,” Arthur replied testily, his face still buried in the menu. He didn’t pay any attention to the cheeringly chipper young man approaching their table.

 

“Good evening dear sirs. What can I get you two?” the very eager, blonde waiter asked the two men as he whipped out a small notepad from his breast pocket.

 

“Well… I’m just getting the Puttanesca for now,” Dom said with a small, polite smile as he handed the waiter his menu.

 

“Alright. And what would you like to drink sir? By the way if you’re interested, all our alcoholic beverages have a discount tonight since we’re celebrating our anniversary this week. All cocktails have a thirty percent discount while our beers are fifty off,” the waiter followed up as he began to scribble down on his small note pad.

 

“Just water will do uhh, Kyle,” Dom answered as he glanced at their waiter’s nametag. “I’m laying off alcohol for the meantime.”

 

“No problem sir,” Kyle said before turning his attention to the other man at the table, a man whose entire face was still childishly buried in the menu’s pages. “And how about you sir?” he asked Arthur.

 

Arthur slammed his menu down on the table, making both Dom and the waiter jump in small surprise. He glared evilly at Dom before scowling. “I told you I’m not ready yet Dominic,” he said in a tone so chillingly cold it actually made their waiter shudder.

 

Dom glared back at Arthur. The blonde couldn’t fathom what on earth crawled up his best friend’s ass to have him act like a raging bitch. But he was determined to find out. He looked up at Kyle who was wearing a rather tense smile. “We’ll call you later for his order Kyle, thanks,” he said with a forced smile.

 

Kyle simply nodded with understanding before scampering away from their table. As soon as the waiter was out of sight, Dom quickly turned to Arthur.

 

“Okay Arthur, what the fuck is up with you? Are you PMS-ing again?” Dom asked impatiently, causing Arthur to scoff over Dom’s favorite term for whenever he was bitchy.

 

“I am not PMS-ing,” Arthur replied to his best friend as he leaned back and crossed his arms in defiance.

 

“Bullshit,” Dom called, as he himself leaned back against the chair, mimicking Arthur’s posture to show that he wasn’t backing down anytime soon.

 

“I told you, I am not!” Arthur hissed at Dom. The two continued their eye duel for a few minutes before Arthur finally relented. “Okay fine! Maybe a little.”

 

And it was at that moment their waiter came back with two glasses of water. “Thank you Kyle and no, he is still not ready to order I’m afraid,” Dom said afterwards with a smile, causing the waiter to flush a little bit before hurrying away. As soon as Kyle disappeared, Dom turned his attention back at Arthur who was staring at him with a very peculiar expression.

 

“What’s that look for?” Dom asked Arthur as he began to take a sip of water from his glass.

 

Arthur’s eyes twinkled with mischief before he responded, “Oh my god. You were flirting with the waiter.”

 

Dom almost choked on his water, much to Arthur’s delight.

 

“Excuse… me?” Dom asked, as he took in slow breaths of air.

 

“You were _so_ totally flirting with our waiter,” Arthur said as he wiggled his eyebrows at his best friend who was scowling at him, which only made Arthur laugh even harder.

 

“Will you cut that out?!” Dom snapped as he threw his table napkin at Arthur’s face, masking his laugh. “Can you please stop that? How many times have I got to tell you that I am straight?”

 

“Oh please Dom,” Arthur said as he took the napkin off his head and chucked it back at his blonde friend. “The only thing straight these days is a ruler… and that is still very bendable if you catch my drift.”

 

“Uh huh,” Dom said with a flat tone, clearly not amused with how the conversation shifted to his sexuality. “Anyway,” he started as he tried to get the conversation back on track. “I thought you’d be happy now that Eames isn’t staying in your apartment anymore… Or is it Ted?”

 

“I am. Well… at least I think so,” Arthur replied sheepishly as he played around with his utensils.

“What do you mean ‘you think’? It’s either a yes or a no Arthur,” Dom said as he narrowed his eyes at his friend who clearly had a lot on his mind. “I believe I remember the words you told me to describe him the other day. It was-”

 

“Yes Dom. I am perfectly aware how I described him thank you very much,” Arthur snapped as he stopped Dom from repeating the slightly harsh words he used to describe Ted’s alter.

 

“So? What changed? I mean, you just dropped him off in the mall this morning with Ari right?”

 

Arthur stopped poking his plate with his fork as he remembered what transpired earlier with Eames this morning in the mall.

 

“Okay, you’re thinking about something. Spill it,” Dom ordered as he leaned over the table to get a better listen at Arthur.

 

Arthur didn’t really know how to put this into words without sounding pretty stupid. “Well… Eames is sort of afraid of clowns.”

 

Dom just blinked at that, not really sure if he heard that correctly. “Excuse me?”

 

“Eames. Is. Afraid. Of. Clowns,” Arthur said as he punctuated every word incredibly slow for emphasis.

 

“Okay… So what’s the big deal? I’m scared of clowns too Arthur.”

 

“Well did you have a panic attack because of them?” Arthur snapped, annoyed how Dom could belittle Eames’ fear. When he saw Dom’s eyes widen, he couldn’t help but feel better – well just slightly anyway.

 

“What?” Dom repeated.

 

“He had one this morning when we were about to meet up with Ari. There was a clown nearby and he just really freaked out. Like legit I-cannot-breathe-I-am-about-to-faint level freak out,” Arthur said sadly.

 

“Is he okay now?” his best friend asked, concerned.

 

“Oh yeah… Well, he was pretty shaken afterwards, but he was fine when we finally met up with Ari. He went back to his charming, sarcastic self we all know and love when he saw her.”

 

His blonde friend looked at him strangely. “Why are you so worked up then? As you said, he’s fine. So what’s the problem?”

 

Arthur stared at his friend not believing what he was hearing. “Because Dom, he fucking scared me okay? I thought he was going to seriously pass out this morning! Besides, what if this is somehow connected to him trying to commit suicide many times?”

 

“Is it?” Dom interrupted him; calm and collected like a motherfucker.

 

“I don’t know!” Arthur answered, voice loud from his rising anger. “I tried to ask him about it afterwards, but he would just shoot me down angrily. I mean it’s obviously somehow connected with Ted, I’m sure. You don’t just have normal episodes of panic attacks like that without some sort of trigger and by god, that clown was one fucking trigger,” he continued hotly.

 

Dom just looked at Arthur patiently noticing how hard his friend was now breathing after his passionate speech just then. “And?” he finally asked after a couple of silent seconds, knowing Arthur was still holding back on whatever he wanted to say.

 

“And…” Arthur replied as he looked down in embarrassment. “I think I like him.”

 

“Hoo boy,” Dom muttered to himself. Arthur raised his eyebrow as Dom called the waiter.

 

 _Why is he calling the fucking waiter?_ Arthur angrily thought as he glared at his friend, not appreciating him not paying any attention to him.

 

“Oh Arthur, will you stop giving me the fucking stink eye? I just need something before you continue your story,” Dom said with a snap when he noticed Arthur glaring at him. “Oh Kyle, no, my friend still isn’t ready to order yet; however, I would like to take you up on your offer on that discounted beer. Thanks.”

 

 

-

 

 

 _Oh joy_. Arthur humorlessly thought as he pressed the button again, as the machine made whizzing sounds. A few seconds later, the machine spewed out the paper from the other end, which Arthur grabbed and tossed onto the pile of papers behind him. He opened the lid and laid down a different page on top of the glass before shutting it and repeating the process.

 

He was not looking forward to photocopying all Wednesday afternoon.

 

Arthur stood silently and stared at the wall in front of him. There wasn’t really anything particularly special about the wall, but he felt how mundane and monotonous this was going to be. In fact, he was so used to the behavioral settings by now that he could successfully photocopy the permits he needed without even having to glance at the machine.

 

_Now I know why the Xerox lady back in college was always so cranky – this shit is so boring. It can make you insane._

 

“Oh Arthur?” a voice called out behind him just as he was about to place another permit into the machine.

 

He turned around to see Lester peeking out from the edge of the doorway. “Yes?” he asked the man, not sure if he was annoyed or relieved he was disturbed.

 

Perhaps both.

 

“You have a call back at your station,” Lester said as he jabbed his thumb in the air towards Arthur’s cubicle.

 

“What were you doing in my station in the- You know what, never mind. Tell them I’ll call back,” Arthur said as he turned around to get back to his work only to face Lester again a split second later. “Unless it’s Saito. Is it him?” he asked, pondering irately what on earth his boss would want from him at this time.

 

“No, it’s not-”

 

“Then I’ll give them a return call later then,” Arthur said with finality as he faced the machine again, a signal to Lester that this conversation was indeed over. Lester, on the other hand, didn’t pick that up.

 

“It’s Ari though,” Lester replied, hoping Arthur would listen this time. He wouldn’t allow Arthur to not answer this call. It was Ariadne after all and Lester was thoroughly terrified of the petite girl. Dreadfully terrified.

 

“Ari?” Arthur echoed as he stopped what he was doing. He turned around to walk back to his station, saying thanks to Lester for the heads up in the process.

 

Arthur frowned wondering why Ari would call him at the office. He looked at his watch and huffed.

 

 _Huh._ _She should be in the middle of a therapy session with Ted and Mal right now._ He remembered that she took the day off for the session since she wasn’t present last week.

 

 _Not that there was any new development during Ted’s stay with me, considering Eames pretty much did everything possible to avoid talking to Mal. Maybe there’s some sort of progress_ …

 

Arthur slipped inside his cubicle and threw the photocopied permits on the side as he picked up the receiver of his office phone. “Hello, Ari?” he called into the speaker.

 

“Arthur!” he heard Ari exclaim quickly over on the other end. “Where were you? I was contacting your cellphone and you weren’t answering!”

 

“I was in the photocopying room. Had some errands to do with the permits,” he answered as he sat down on his chair and sank into a comfortable position. He grabbed the permits on the side and began sorting them out in front of him. “Anyway, why’d you call?”

 

There was a silence on the other end of the line that made Arthur. Something is definitely up.

 

“Well,” he heard Ari slowly say from the other end. “It’s about Eames actually.”

 

“Eames? What about him?” he replied suddenly, sitting upright at the news. The amount of bothersome scenarios raced through his head as he waited for Ari to respond, which Arthur found waaaay too long. “What happened to him?!” he reiterated with more fervor.

 

“Relax Arthur, he’s fine,” Ari shushed him from the other end. “Well for now at least. He’s actually sitting across me at this very moment while we’re talking to Mal.”

 

“Ooookay. So what’s the problem?” Arthur asked, still not convinced that everything was all right. Silence answered him and he did not like that one bit.

 

“Eames is finally going to cooperate with the therapy session,” Ari bluntly replied.

 

Arthur felt a wave of relief wash over him. “Oh? That’s good then-”

 

“The thing is,” Ari interrupted him, her voice worn out, “he wants you here with him or else he’s not talking.”

 

 _What. The. Fuck._ Arthur thought as he let the piece of information slowly digest in his brain. _I was definitely not expecting that. For sure I’d thought Eames fucking injured himself… or worse!_

 

He didn’t like how emotionally invested he was with regards to Ted’s alter.

 

“Ari, I’m at work,” he answered back, hoping she would get the message. Deep inside, Arthur was nervous and scared over what he may learn over Eames’ past. Ever since Mal mentioned the suicide attempts, he has never looked at the Brit the same way he did before.

 

“I’m not asking you to skip work Arthur. You’ve done more for me in the last week letting Ted and Eames stay in your apartment. It’s Eames. He was the one who asked me to call you.”

 

Arthur didn’t reply to her statement. Instead, he looked at the permits on his desk and thought things through.

 

 _This really isn’t a good idea_.

 

Arthur sighed before he finally replied back to Ari, “Give me an hour.”

 

 

-

 

 

“You really don’t have to do this Arthur,” Ari replied as she let Arthur inside her foyer. She was wearing a sheer top along with a red cardigan, looking pretty, but the worry on her face was unmistakable.

 

“Please Ari, like I have a choice,” Arthur said, stepping inside her apartment in his three piece suit (he did come directly from the office after all). He meant that as a joke but his words came across as a tad inconsiderate, borderline harsh. “Is he okay?” he asked Ari, refusing to move further into the apartment without a rundown of how things were going. He hasn’t seen Ted or Eames since he dropped both of them off in the mall last Sunday, so he was completely out of the loop.

 

“Oh they’re fine. It’s a miracle that Eames is this cooperative. He’s not as much of a troublemaker as he was before. He still acts and talks like an asshole, but baby steps. I’m sure I have you to thank for that,” Ari said as she looked at Arthur with immense gratitude and oddly, awe.

 

Arthur couldn’t help but flush over Ari’s praise. “I didn’t do anything special really,” he replied back as he vainly tried to fight off from blushing even harder. He noticed Ari was about to reply, but changed her mind as she bit her lip at the very last minute.

 

“Anyway, let’s go. Eames and Mal may be at each other’s throats already,” Ari said as she went behind Arthur and started herding him into the living room.

 

_What a lovely scene for a sitcom._

As she was guiding Arthur around her apartment, Arthur couldn’t help but admire the interiors – how it completely contrasted his own. Whereas Arthur’s was rather plain and homely looking (a result born from the fact that he was more fascinated with clothes than furniture), Ari’s was unfairly modern. And Arthur meant unfairly because her apartment was unfairly beautiful. He saw really sleek, modern, minimalistic cabinetry, tables, and chairs that made his eyes turn green with envy.

 

_Maybe I should spend my money on furniture now._

 

When he entered the living room, Arthur saw Eames sitting on the sofa, as far away as possible from the laptop situated on top of the coffee table. The first thing that Arthur noticed was how tense the Brit was sitting. He could see Eames’ arm muscles fidgeting from the little, subtle movements he was making. He just couldn’t sit still in the situation. When Eames looked up and saw Arthur, the alter’s face exploded into one of surprise, an expression the American did not appreciate because he surmised one particular thought from that.

 

_He honestly didn’t believe I wouldn’t show up._

 

“Eames,” Arthur called out to the Brit, not really sure just how to greet him.

 

“Arthur, you’re here,” Eames replied as he stood up and hugged the smaller man.

 

 _Okay. Definitely wasn’t expecting that_ , Arthur thought as he felt Eames’ arms tighten around the low of his back. All Arthur could do in this awkward situation was pat Eames’ back, just to show that he cares. From the corner of his eye, he could see Ari giving him an inquisitive look; one Arthur was very familiar with. It meant, _You’re going to have to tell me something later._

It seemed an eternity had passed by before Eames finally decided to let Arthur go. He was grinning at the American, not even slightly embarrassed even though there were other people in the room with them. The Brit was completely oblivious to the stares of Mal and Ari. Arthur, being the observant little piece of shit that he was, couldn’t help but shrink from their gaze.

 

“Ahem,” Mal coughed lightly in the background. All three of them stared at the lady on the computer screen and reacted with three distinct reaction: Arthur straightening his posture, trying to shake away the embarrassment of being caught in a public display of affection; Ari shrugging her shoulders, admitting defeat; and Eames snorting, annoyed that his private moment with Arthur was interrupted.

 

“Hello Mal,” Arthur greeted back, trying to be as polite as possible to mask his discomfort over being in this type of situation again.

 

“It’s nice to see you again,” Mal said with a smile. She was sitting very calmly on her personal, wooden desk (which Arthur was sure Ari very much loved) with her notepad placed flat square on the middle.

 

“Same here,” Arthur lied.  But what he really wanted to say was, “You see the last time I talked to you, you scared the shit outta me with that suicide bomb.”

 

“Okay, let’s just all sit down and get comfortable,” Ari suggested as she tried diffusing the tension in the room. The woman was staring at Eames and found that he was wearing a very frustrated expression aimed at the therapist. The last thing she wanted was for the Brit to have a meltdown. She was on the receiving end of that once not so long ago and she didn’t want to experience that show ever again. “Arthur, why don’t you take Eames with you to sit on the couch over there?” she asked her friend, pointing on the far end of the sofa. If she could keep Arthur and Eames together for now, then maybe he would settle down a bit.

 

“I’m perfectly fine thank you very much Ariadne,” Eames snapped as he gave her a dangerous glare. Arthur was surprised she didn’t flinch at that because he would.

 

“Eames, come on let’s go,” Arthur said as he touched Eames’ forearm and gently dragged him towards the spot on the couch Ari pointed out. The Brit snorted, but followed suit anyway as he let Arthur lead him to the couch. Once they settled in, Mal initiated the session again.

 

“Okay, now that everyone is settled in, we should start again,” Mal said as she clapped in hands in glee. “So Arthur, how have you been?” she asked, catching Arthur off guard for he thought she’d make a beeline at Eames.

 

“I’m doing okay,” Arthur said, forcing a smile that was becoming way too much of a habit.

 

“And Eames, how are you feeling now that Arthur is here?” Mal asked, now turning her attention towards Eames, which threw Arthur off.

 

 _Huh. Her attention span has seemingly gone berserk_.

 

Eames didn’t even bother turning his head at that one. He simply moved his eyes to give Mal another set of his death glare. “Peachy,” he said, in the flattest tone ever.

 

 _Whoa_. Arthur thought. _He’s even more pissed than usual. And the lack of his charming self is a bit disconcerting._ He’s never seen Eames this aggravated before. _It’s as if Eames and I switched personalities or something. Oh great, I’m fucking stuck in the Twilight Zone!_

 

That didn’t deter Mal one bit as she just continued like nothing was out of the ordinary. “So how has it been living with Ari compared to your week stay in Arthur’s?” she asked Eames, looking at him dead straight in the eye.

 

Eames took a moment to look at Ari’s direction. “It’s okay. To be honest, I’d rather stay with Arthur.”

 

“Why? Mal asked, her eyes twinkling with some weird, unreadable expression. “Is it because you enjoy spending time with Arthur?”

 

“Not really,” Eames answered flatly, which made Arthur wince beside him. “To be honest, I miss Tommy.”

 

“Who’s Tommy?” Ari asked, looking at Arthur with alarm at the thought of having a stranger know about Ted/Eames’ condition.

 

“Tommy? Oh, that’s the dog you adopted right Arthur?” Mal inquired, her eyes flicking at Arthur’s. Before Arthur could answer, he was suddenly interrupted.

 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Ariadne shouted loudly as she put her hands in the air to halt everyone. “You adopted a dog?” Ari asked, emphasizing the ‘you’ at Arthur’s expense. She stared at Arthur like he was some distant alien creature. This was Arthur for crying out loud. He doesn’t like dogs… like _ever._

 

“I wouldn’t call it adopted really,” Eames replied as he looked at Arthur with much amusement.

 

“More like dognapped,” Arthur said with a snap.

 

“Dognapped?!” Ari exclaimed, not believing she was actually hearing this.

 

“Eames took a stray home and he’s been in my apartment ever since,” Arthur corrected himself, noticing how Ari took that joke a little too seriously.

 

“Gee Arthur,” Ari started, “you’re definitely coming out of your shell-”

 

“But how’s the little bugger doing? He’s still alive right?” Eames questioned Arthur, narrowing his eyes at him in the process. Behind the Brit, Arthur saw Ari snort and mumble something over being interrupted. Given Arthur’s personality and dislike of Tommy, Eames really wouldn’t put it past the American to give up the dog.

 

 _What the fuck? The nerve of him!_ Arthur thought, as he was appalled that Eames would ever suggest that he would abandon Tommy like that _. Well okay, granted I did sort of suggested that the moment I saw him, but I’ll admit he’s grown on me._

 

Eames must have realized his mistake when he apologized to Arthur.

 

Arthur’s glare softened when he saw Eames’ face fall. “You should visit him,” he told the Brit. “He misses you.” _And I do too_.

 

Eames looked at him and smiled. “Okay, I will.”

 

And for that afternoon, Eames and Arthur got lost in their own little world a second time. And for the second time that afternoon, Mal interrupted them.

 

“So Arthur, is Tommy the only thing new about your life last week?” Mal asked.

 

“What do you mean?” Arthur answered, not fully being able to comprehend the question properly.

 

“Oh well, is there anything you want to share about Eames today?” Mal continued, unrelenting. By this point, Ari exchanged glances between Mal and Arthur, completely nervous when she saw that particular glint in the therapist’s eyes.

 

 _She looks like she’s about to pounce on her prey._ Ari thought, not liking how this was unraveling.

 

“I don’t think so,” Arthur answered solemnly. He couldn’t help but slightly narrow his eyes at Mal. He saw Eames beam at him, looking mightily triumphant from the corner of his eye.

 

“Really? Because the last time we talked, which was,” Mal trailed off as she jumped a few pages back in her notepad, “last Saturday, I remember our conversation on how frustrated you were with Eames. But now, roughly four days later, both of you are acting like very close friends.”

 

A growl from Eames permeated the living room. He didn’t like how Mal was putting Arthur right on the spot. He instinctively placed his arm around Arthur’s shoulders, signaling to Mal that there was in no way on hell that bitch was going to harm his darling.

 

“Too close if you ask me,” Mal said with a raised eyebrow when she noticed that gesture from Eames.

 

“Mal, stop,” Ari ordered, not liking how Mal was attacking Arthur. When she asked her coworker to come and help out, this was definitely wasn’t what she had in mind. Arthur wasn’t the patient one to begin with. He shouldn’t be treated like this.

 

The therapist, of course, didn’t pay any heed to Ariadne.

 

“Are you sure there’s nothing you want to share Arthur? I mean, technically anything you’ve uncovered may prove useful in figuring Eames out,” Mal explained, a little more gently this time.

 

“I am not a bloody test subject,” Eames hissed as he went on a tirade of insults aimed at his therapist. Correction: Ted’s therapist.

 

Arthur stayed silent as he watched Eames pointing his finger at the screen, with Ari stepping in between as some sort of mediator. He, himself, didn’t join in the fray as Mal’s words firmly seeded themselves in his brain.

 

_Do I tell her?_

_I mean… I should though. She’s her therapist for crying out loud._

_There’s got to be a reason why he’s afraid of them._

_What if it’s all connected?_

_But then again, what if it isn’t?_

_Get a fucking clue Arthur._

_Ask yourself, if you could stop Eames from killing himself, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to help? No matter the consequences?_

_Fuck._

_I’m sorry… Eames. This is for your own good_.

 

“Clowns.” Arthur muttered finally as he steeled a look aimed at all three of them.

 

“What?” all three of them stopped and stared at him like he suddenly sprouted another head.

 

“What did you say?” Ari asked, clueless.

 

Arthur directly looked at Mal in the eyes to clarify. “When we were supposed to meet Ari last Sunday, Eames had a panic attack. I was fucking freaking out over it. I looked around to see what might have triggered it and realized that it was because of a clown in one of the shops there. I mean, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but when the clown moved closer to inspect what was going on, Eames shuddered, pretty hard if I may add. That’s when I knew that something must have happened with him and clowns,” he finished, this time his gaze now aimed at Eames.

 

“I see,” Mal said while scribbling down notes on her pad like wildfire.

 

Eames just stared at him. His face had an expression of complete betrayal. “You promised me you wouldn’t tell anyone Arthur,” Eames told Arthur crestfallen.

 

“You. Bloody. Fucking. Promised. Me!” he growled the last few words out.

 

Arthur immediately went on the defensive. “Eames, we’re – I’m trying to help you. We’re trying to figure out what’s wrong-”

 

“There’s _nothing_ wrong with me,” Eames hissed out, his vision darkening. He clenched his fists incredibly hard it started shaking from an uncontrollable rage.

 

“Will you shut up and listen?” Arthur shouted as he stood up from the couch. “Mal told me you tried to kill yourself okay? I’m just preventing that from happening. Maybe this information would help us figure out what’s wrong with Ted!”

 

Eames’ gaze hardened when Arthur brought up his suicide attempts before finally settling into one that was fully broken. “Newsflash Arthur, these people,” he shouted as he gestured towards the two ladies, “Don’t bloody fucking care about me. They care about Ted.”

 

“But-”

 

“No. _You_ shut the bloody fuck up Arthur. You really want to know why I tried killing myself? It’s because maybe if I disappeared, then maybe Ted would get normal again. Do you honestly think I bloody like living like this? Like I wanted to be a second fiddle in life? I’m tired. I just want this living nightmare to end already. And make it easier for everybody because let’s face it, I’m the problem right?” Eames explained as an insurmountable amount of emotions consumed him, causing his words to slowly mumble.  “You were the first person who believed I could be someone else, Arthur But no, you’re _just_ like the rest of them,” Eames spat. “Bloody hypocrite.”

 

Arthur stood there as he digested Eames’ words in. It wasn’t until he saw tears in Eames’ eyes falling down nonstop on his face, without a hint of sadness, that he realized he made a huge mistake.

 

“Eames, I’m… fuck… I’m sorry,” Arthur said with utter remorse as he approached the other man.

 

“Don’t.” Eames warned as he slightly backed away from the architect.

 

“Eames, wait,” Arthur said as he gripped the Brit’s arm to steel him into place.

 

“ _Don’t_ touch me,” Eames threatened as he swatted Arthur’s arm away. When Arthur tried reaching out again, Ari’s fears came true: Eames had a meltdown.

 

“I said don’t fucking bloody touch me!” Eames shouted before punching Arthur straight in the face.

 

The last thing Arthur heard was Ari screaming before everything went silent and his gaze pitch black.

 

 

-0-0-

 

_Why can’t I dream_

_Cause I know you care_

_And I know you care_

_I know you care_

_I know it’s always been there._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway (sorta) point guys!


	8. John Wayne

_Whole sentences in italics are a character’s thoughts in his/her head._

 

~~Beta-less, whee!~~ Quality controlled and assured. ~~~~

 

 

-0-0-

 

** 08: John Wayne (by Little Green Cars) **

 

_You know it’s your neglect_

_Is the reason why I’m so obsessed with you_

_And when I asked you your name, you said John Wayne_

_And I guess it’s true_

_‘Coz then you shot me down,_

_Doubled over and I hit the ground right in front of you_

_I guess in the Wild West_

_It’s okay to shoot the pest that’s annoying you_

-0-0-

“Hey Hansen, it’s time to rise and shine!”

 

Arthur groaned as he slowly stirred awake, the unknown voice disrupting his peace. He clutched his head, throbbing, unrelenting in pain.

 

_The fuck just happened?_

 

He was _still_ very much in a daze as he could only see a hazy figure hovering above him. When the figure moved, a sudden bright light blinded him as he shouted indistinguishable words in both discomfort and surprise. He put up a hand up his face to shield his eyes. When he peeked from his hands a few seconds later and saw that the light didn’t let up one bit, his anger got the better of him.

 

“Jesus Christ!” he bellowed. “Can someone please turn off the fucking lights?”

 

Arthur turned to his side to avoid the glare of the light only to find himself slipping off whatever he was lying on and falling face flat on the wooden floor. He landed with a loud thud, only adding more fuel to his anger.

 

“Shit!” Arthur shouted as he clutched his nose from the pain as he slowly raised himself off the floor.

 

“Whoa, whoa there cowboy. Take it easy!” a familiar voice behind him said worryingly as he felt arms steadying his frame as he slowly stood up.

 

Arthur’s head turned at the recognition of that voice. “Dom?” He saw his best friend giving him a frown. “What are you doing here?” he asked, unaware of what transpired earlier this afternoon.

 

Dom didn’t answer him straight away. Instead, he stubbornly guided Arthur back onto the bed for him to sit. “Okay, first things first Arthur, stop moving too much. You’re just going to overexert yourself.”

 

Arthur was about to respond something mean to him when he felt a surge of pain passing through his jaw. The architect moaned as he gently cupped his jaw.

 

_Shit. That fucking hurt._

 

Dom shook his head at Arthur as he handed him an ice bag. Arthur snatched it and hurriedly applied it to his jaw, which helped ease the pain… by just a smidgeon.

 

“Better _darling_?” Dom asked him in a mock British accent as he leaned against a wooden bureau. He knew it wasn’t the right time or place, but he just needed to make a point to Arthur: that getting involved with Eames would end badly. Last Sunday, during dinner, when the blond learned that Arthur had been harboring feelings for Ted’s alter, he specifically remembered telling his friend to stop getting in contact with the Brit. Because he somehow knew down the road, Arthur would just get hurt. He just didn’t expect it to be so soon - and with a punch on the face.

 

“Don’t start Dominic,” Arthur warned as he glared at the blond, remembering what happened earlier thanks to Dom using a British accent. The architect knew exactly what his best friend was angling at. “Don’t you _fucking_ start.”

 

Arthur was thankful Dom didn’t continue. _Well at least, he’s not being douchey today_.

 

“How’d you end up in here anyway?” Arthur asked before his gaze lingered around the room he was in. “Speaking of here, where is here anyway?” he asked as he noted how everything in the room was unfamiliar to him.

 

The room he was in, if Arthur could put it nicely, was kind of plain. Truthfully, it looked like some dingy motel room in some backwater, provincial, redneck area. The walls had some tacky peach, striped wallpaper on. The bed, Arthur noted as he looked from his shoulder, seemed like it hadn’t been very well maintained. And then Arthur sniffed the air because he was for sure, the room smelled like mothballs.

 

“First of all, you’re in Ari’s guestroom,” Dom answered to which Arthur quickly turned his attention back at his friend. Dom just raised an eyebrow, not really understanding why Arthur suddenly was more alert all of a sudden. The black haired man looked around the room once more and found it hard to believe.

 

_Wow… okay… really? This bedroom belongs to Ari? But that’s… insane considering how beautiful the rest of her apartment is compared to this… well, dump._

 

“Anyway,” Dom continued, noting that Arthur had his familiar sourpuss, disgusted look going on. “Ari called me after Eames apparently knocked you out.”

 

Arthur groaned in pain, his jaw throbbing at the recollection of events. “Where is she anyway?” he asked, noticing how a particular little brunette was missing in action.

 

“Oh, she’s in the hospital,” Dom answered, very matter-of-factly.

 

“What?!” Arthur shouted, as he stood up in shock and worry. His eyes glazed with burning anger. “What the fuck did Eames do to her? Is she okay? I swear if-”

 

“Whoa whoa Arthur, calm down,” Dom said, trying to dilute the other man’s anger. “Seriously Arthur, sit your sorry ass back down!”

 

“Where did Eames hit her?!” Arthur yelled, looking ready to throw his ice bag at Dom. He couldn’t believe Eames would actually hit Ari… would actually hit a woman. That was just too low.

 

“It’s not what you think,” Dom replied hastily. “Will you stop bitching and let me talk?!’

 

Arthur quickly shut his mouth, putting his retort shelved for now.

 

“Thank you!” his friend replied back, flailing his arms in the air in exasperation. “Okay. When Eames punched you and ran out, Ari ran out to talk to him, but she accidentally tripped and sprained her ankle. She’s in the hospital to get sorted out. Eames didn’t touch her or punch her or trip her okay? It was an accident.”

 

Arthur responded by merely narrowing his eyes at Dom. He was trying to process whether the words coming out of Dom’s mouth were true or not.

 

“It’s true Arthur. Believe me, it’s nothing to be worried about. I was there when she had her check-up, she’ll be fine,” Dom reassured his friend.

 

“If you say so,” Arthur grumbled as he slowly sat down while he applied the ice bag on his jaw again.

 

“Now _you_ mister,” his friend said as he placed both his hands on Arthur’s shoulders for emphasis. “You need to go home and rest.”

 

The architect looked at him strangely. “No.” Because how on earth was he supposed to rest when Eames is out there _alone,_ possibly livid _and_ suicidal.

 

“Yes,” Dom replied back, eyeing Arthur with a fierce determination. “You have work tomorrow and you’re going to need to rest with what happened to you lately. Lord knows you’ve been through shit.”

 

“But what about-”

 

“There’s nothing you can do Arthur. We don’t know where Eames is right now. Ari said he didn’t bring his phone with him, so we can’t track his whereabouts anyway. The best thing you can do right now is to go home and rest. I’ll be watching Ari while Eames and Ted aren’t here.”

 

Arthur glared back at his best friend’s eyes and saw that he wouldn’t be able to talk his way out this time. If there’s one quality that both Dom and him share is that they were both extremely stubborn. A quality that is the main reason of most of their little disputes. Normally the only way to resolve this amicably was for one of them to concede. Unfortunately for Arthur, it was his turn now.

 

“Fine. I’ll go home and rest,” he grumbled at Dom who breathed a sigh of relief. “But if you or Ari manage to get in contact with Eames, you need to call me right away,” he said as he took off Dom’s hands off his shoulders, stood up, and made his way out into the living room.

 

“Of course! Of course.” Dom called out at Arthur’s back before turning serious. “And Arthur, I’m going to be calling your apartment every half hour.”

 

The architect stopped at Dom’s words, registering the severity of them. Frowning, he turned around and looked frustratingly at his blond best friend. “That’s extreme… even for you Dom,” Arthur replied flatly.

 

“I know you Arthur. The second you get out of this apartment, you’re going to go on a search and rescue mission _alone,_ asking no one for help,” Dom said cheekily.

 

Arthur simply rolled his eyes at Dom’s statement. “That’s an exaggeration.”

 

“Is it really Arthur?” Dom asked, voice challenging but with just a hint of playfulness and maybe mockery.

 

“Okay fine. Maybe you’re a little right,” Arthur answered back with a shrug.

 

“Of course, I know you the best after all. Now, go home and rest. You know, it’s a good thing you agreed willingly or else I’ll be the one to punch you out this time and drag you back to your apartment.”

 

 

-

 

 

That evening, Arthur didn’t just rest as per his best friend’s advice.

 

He got drunk.

 

Not just ‘ _I had a few drinks too plenty’_ drunk, oh no. It was more of _‘Screw this shit. I fucking hate the world, kind of need to escape’_ drunk.

 

Arthur gently snored as he sprawled out on his living room floor, cans of beer littered all around him.

 

As he ventured home from Ari’s apartment, he found himself agitated and restless. Eames kept running through his mind. No one in his life had gotten under his skin as deep and as much as the Brit did and it thoroughly scared him shitless.

 

Arthur always thought of himself as a very rational man. A logical thinker. A realist. Which is why he kept Eames at an arm’s length during his and Ted’s stay in his home last week. But even though he kept giving the man the cold shoulder, he found a way to worm into Arthur’s heart, slowly and unexpectedly. So as a realist, the only way Arthur thought of escaping his problems was to buy beers and get wasted tonight, work be damned tomorrow. He’s just gonna fucking sleep it off, get a fucking hangover, and deal with everyone else tomorrow.

 

Of course, knowing Arthur and his string of questionable luck lately, things never go according to his plan as his cellular phone started ringing at the highest possible volume, stirring him from his peaceful slumber.

 

Arthur groaned as his eyes slowly flickered open, the constant ringing of his phone screeching at him.

 

“What time is it?” he muttered to himself as he peeked at the clock on the wall. “Shit. It’s fucking two-thirty in the morning!” he growled, not liking that his attempt to escape reality until morning was disrupted. He turned his head and grabbed his phone from above the coffee table, frowning as his head throbbed with pain.

 

_An unknown number. At Two-thirty in the morning. This cannot be good._

 

He carefully pressed the answer button and grumbled through the phone, “Hello?”

 

“Is this Arthur?” a rough, solemn voice greeted him through the other end. The voice was low and sounding a bit muffled as sounds of cheesy rock and roll music played in the background.

 

Arthur didn’t answer the question exactly. He didn’t think it was wise to divulge his identity to some stranger at this dead of the hour in the morning.

 

_Especially to someone who knew exactly who I am._

 

“Who is this?” Arthur replied by asking back in desperate attempt to turn the tables against this stranger.

 

“I’m looking for an Arthur,” the man from the other end snapped back, threatening and intimidating.

 

“Well it depends on who’s asking,” Arthur said back. He wasn’t backing down, that’s for sure.

 

“Look man, I don’t have fucking time for this. If you know an Arthur, please tell me to call me back. Tell him that Eames is looking for him,” the man growled as he shouted some expletives to some folks in the background.

 

That got his complete attention.

 

“Wait!” Arthur quickly replied, as he suddenly sat up in anxiousness. “You know Eames? Is he okay? Where is he?”

 

There wasn’t an immediate response to his questions. All Arthur heard was the music playing in the background, which made him even more anxious. The sudden silence unnerved him to the point wherein he had to stand up and pace his apartment to work off the nerves in his body. It took about another couple of seconds too long for Arthur’s taste before the man on the other end responded back.

 

“So I take it you’re Arthur?” the man asked, slowly and thoughtfully. His response didn’t do much to quell the architect’s bundle of nerves.

 

“Yes!” Arthur replied. “Is he alright?!”

 

“I wouldn’t say that exactly.”

 

Arthur felt his heart stop. “What the fuck happened?” he growled through the phone. If something happened to Eames, he’d probably never forgive himself.

 

“Relax chum, he’s slumped over my bar, rambling on and on over how you basically ripped his heart out.”

 

“That’s not what happened!” Arthur interjected.

 

“Isn’t it?” the man mocked him and Arthur could have sworn he must be raising his eyebrows over the phone in disbelief.

 

“It’s… it’s complicated,” he muttered back, feeling just a tad shameful.

 

“That’s what they all say. Look, I need you to get down here and pick him up. I’m not comfortable sending him out in his current state. God knows where he’ll end up in. Besides, he’s slobbering over my bar like a dog and I can’t have that,” the man explained as he paused and whispered to someone in the background. Arthur guessed he must be talking to Eames as he heard a barely coherent British accent muttering god knows what in the background.

 

“Where is your bar exactly?” Arthur asked.

 

It took a few moments for the man to return his attention to Arthur before he finally replied, “Do you have a pen and paper ready?”

 

“Hold on,” Arthur said as he quickly bolted into his room and proceeded towards his desk. He took the first piece of pen and scrap of paper he could find. “Go ahead, shoot.” He listened carefully as he got the bar’s address and directions, taking extra time to make sure that he listed them down correctly. Once that was done, he thanked the man and ended the call. He calmly stared at what he just wrote and grimaced. Satisfied, he went through his phone to search out Dom and called him up.

 

“Dom,” he started when his friend picked up. “Listen… Yes, I know it is fucking almost three in the morning. Can you please just calm down and listen, okay? I found Eames and you’re not going to like where.”

 

 

-

 

 

“Eames is in there?” Ari asked incredulously as she gazed out the car window and stared unbelievably at the establishment in front of them. “Please tell me this is a joke Arthur.”

 

From the passenger seat, Arthur turned in his seat so he could look at Ari. “I wish I was, but the guy called and said Eames was in there.” He then faced upfront and felt a little bit of dread creeping into his system. He had to agree with Ari with this one, but what can they really do if Eames was really in there.

 

Dom leaned against the steering wheel and squinted. “Highway To Hell?” he said slowly, as he read the bar’s flickering neon red sign. He then looked downwards at the entrance and saw that there were a number of motorcycles and jacked up cars parked up front. “Isn’t that…” he looked questioningly at both Arthur and Ari. “Isn’t that the bar that keeps appearing on the news because of all the frequent brawls and murder that happens inside?”

 

Ari groaned as she visibly paled. “Don’t remind me Dom. I was trying to not remember that, thank you.”

 

Dom then steered his leering gaze at Arthur. “You’re absolutely sure Eames is in there?” he asked him as he pointed at the bar across them with his thumb.

 

“Yes. How many times do I have to tell you guys?” Arthur replied, annoyed.

 

“Great,” Dom muttered as he looked at Highway To Hell with contempt and fright. “Leave it up to your boyfriend to pick the most dangerous bar in the most dangerous part of town.”

 

“He is not my boyfriend!” Arthur snapped. “Can we just go get him please? I really don’t want to spend too much time in this part of the city.”

 

“Okay fine,” Dom replied as he took his seatbelt off. “Ari, you stay here. Arthur and I are going inside to get Eames,” he told the small brunette in the backseat.

 

“What? Why?” Ari shouted in disbelief.

 

Arthur just looked at her like she grew a second head. “Uh, because you have a sprained ankle and you can barely walk,” he answered, matter-of-factly as he took his seatbelt off. He was about to open his door when Ari screamed from the back of the car.

 

“ARTHUR HANSEN AND DOMINIC COBB, YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME ALONE IN THIS PLACE!”

 

“Ari, it’s going to be fine. You’ll be safe here-”

 

“Oh no. Don’t tell me that Dominic! I know that particular story where some guy in this area was shot in the head while trying to turn on his fucking car.”

 

“Well, just lie down on the seat and do your best not to get seen then.”

 

“You have got to be kidding me Arthur. That is a dumb idea.”

 

“Well, what do you plan on doing then? If things get rough inside, you’re going to be a liability with your sprained ankle and all,” Arthur hotly replied, glaring at Ari.

 

“Arthur, my fiancé is sharing the same body with Eames. I would like to pick him up if you don’t mind,” Ari replied through gritted teeth.

 

Arthur and Ari just continued glaring at each other, before Dom interrupted them.

 

“Listen Arthur. It’ll be fine. I’ll watch over her,” Dom said as he raised his hands in attempt to calm his two friends down. Ari smiled nicely at him. Arthur, on the other hand, simply gave him a dirty look. Dom grinned sheepishly back at him to not rile the man any more.

 

“Fine,” Arthur spat. “But if anything happens to her, you are going to be held liable.”

 

“Okay, okay geez Arthur. We’re just going to pick Eames inside. That’s not going to take more than ten minutes, I doubt a murder would break out in that short period of time,” Dom replied.

 

“Oh you’ll be surprised what you can do in ten minutes,” Arthur snorted before getting out of the car. He placed his arm on top of the car as he watched Dom help Ari out of the car. “You guys ready?” he asked as soon as Ari was out.

 

“Yes,” Ari replied. “Let’s go get him then.”

 

The three of them cautiously made their way into Highway To Hell, dodging all the looks thrown at their direction. After all, they did look out of place in the crowd. In fact, they pretty much stuck out like sore thumbs. Whereas everyone else was either clad head to toe in hardcore leather or simply put, shady looking, here come the three waltzing in rather casual clothes.  

 

Arthur was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. Dom had jeans as well although he had on a rather bulky khaki jacket, a Taser and a rape whistle (don’t ask) tucked inside. It was Ari who gotten the short end of the stick. Since she was wearing a skirt because of her ankle tape, every man inside the bar was leering and eyeing her from head to toe. “Hey sweet cheeks! I want me some of that fine piece” a sleazy wiry man whistled at her as he groped his crotch. She responded by clutching tighter onto Dom’s jacket.

 

The place itself was your typical rundown, washed out brawl type of bar. It was dark, and menacing, with neon lights running across the walls and some tacky pendant lights to shine above some billiard tables. From the corner of his eye, Arthur could see molds gathering on the walls and the leather seats on the sides were in deft need of upholstery. He surely didn’t miss the stench of beer, cigarette and wet mop filling the room. A creeping feeling made the hair on pretty much every part of his body stand up as he led his friends deeper into the sad excuse of a bar. More so because he couldn’t get past the tired rock song blaring weakly from the sound system that seemed like it had been the only song that has playing for years.

 

He couldn’t wait to get out of here.

 

“Okay, where’s Eames?” Dom whispered at Arthur when they finally reached the rather small, cheap looking bar at the end of the room. There was a man drinking on the farthest side of the stools and it definitely wasn’t the man they were all looking for. “You said he’s here.”

 

“I don’t know okay. Maybe he went to the bathroom or something. Hold on,” Arthur told Dom as he placed his hands on the bar counter to lean in and capture the bartender’s attention. “Excuse me,” Arthur called out to the bartender only to recoil his hands away when he noticed they were awfully sticky.

 

_What the fuck did I just touch? This is disgusting._

 

“What do you want?” the gruff, bearded bear of a man dressed in leather growled back at Arthur. He exchanged glances among the three of them as he continued wiping dry the mug he was holding. “Are you sure you guys are in the right bar?” he asked with a raised eyebrow as he eyed their clothes with hidden hilarity.

 

“I’m looking for Mr. Eames,” Arthur said as he grabbed several pieces of tissues from the counter to wipe his hands on.

 

The bald bartender just gave Arthur a strange look and dismissed him, “Never heard of an Eames man.”

 

Arthur stopped wiping his hands to look up at the bartender. “What? Big, British guy with brown hair. Had a little bit of stubble on his face,” he added, pointing at his chin for emphasis. “We talked on the phone earlier. You said he was here.”

 

“Talked?” the bartender bellowed. “Listen buddy, I don’t know what shit you’re high on right now,” he said, frowning as he fixed a blank gaze over Arthur’s clothes as some sort of reference or whatever, “but we sure as hell didn’t talk on the fucking phone.”

 

Ari and Dom simply gave Arthur two distinct expressions of confusion at the bartender’s answer.

 

“But someone told me that Eames was-”

 

“You’re looking for Eames?” a voice asked from the unnerving darkness.

 

All four of them turned and saw another bald, gruff, bearded bear of a guy poking out from inside the doorway at the end of the bar. The only difference he had from the bartender was that his beard was a fiery red.

 

“Any of you Arthur?” the man asked as he shifted his gaze among the three of them. _They really look like they are asking for trouble._

 

“That would be me,” Arthur replied, raising his hand in the air.

 

“Aahhh…” the man drawled out as he stepped out from the doorway and into the bar itself. “Listen Victor, why don’t you take five?” he told the bartender as he clasped him on the shoulder.

 

“But boss, I just got here,” the other man replied.

 

“It’s fine. I’ll handle this. Besides, it looks like it’s going to be a slow morning for a change,” the man smiled.

 

“Well if you say so,” Victor grumbled before putting down his cleaning cloth and mug on the back counter and headed off into the back door for his break.

 

As soon as Victor was out of sight, the boss turned his attention at the three of them. “Now, you’re looking for…” he trailed off, looking strangely at the three of them, particularly at Arthur’s University of Berkeley sweatshirt. “…Eames.”

 

“Yes,” Arthur managed to say before the boss talked over him.

 

“Alright, first things first. Did you three,” he said as he individually pointed at the three of them before pointing at some guy in the hood at one far end of the corner, “buy anything from that guy?”

 

“What? No!” Ari squeaked as all three of them turned their heads and stared at the pointed individual.

 

“Good. Don’t,” the boss murmured, causing them to stare back at the boss with bewildered expressions.

 

“Why, what’s he carrying?” Dom asked warily, as he subconsciously slipped his right hand in his jacket’s inside pocket to grasp his Taser. _Better safe than sorry_ , he convinced himself.

 

“Don’t ask what you don’t want to know blondie,” the boss answered. “And get your hand out of your jacket boy. People here will think you have a gun inside and I really don’t want blood in the bar this month,” he added menacingly as he glowered at Dom’s arm. The blond quickly took his arm out as his face turned white from panic and gave a very, very nervous laugh.

 

“Where’s Eames?” Arthur interrupted as he stepped in front of Dom to redirect the boss’ attention back to him. “You said he was here.”

 

“Well he was,” the boss replied nonchalantly, “But sometime after our phone conversation, he disappeared,” the boss replied with a frustrated sigh.

 

“What do you mean disappeared?” Ari asked only to jump from surprise over the loud rough housing happening at one of the billiard tables.

 

All of them turned around and saw four men smacking the hell out of each other. It looked pretty vicious when one heavy bodied bloke pushed another equally able bodied fellow onto the aged billiard table, but the people around them were laughing and cheering them on that they weren’t sure if that was really a bar fight or simply these people’s way of playful bantering. Because if this was their idea of playful bantering, Arthur would hate to see them actually fighting as he saw blood pouring out from the men’s noses and mouths. The three were visibly shaken as the scene was fast turning into an actual bottle breaking and gun-wielding brawl.

 

“Aww shit,” the boss cursed behind them. “Listen you three,” he barked, capturing the trio’s attention. “Eames was here, but he left around fifteen minutes ago when I had my back turned on him.”

 

“Fuck!” Arthur cursed as he ran his hand through his hair in vexation.

 

“But,” the boss said harshly, giving Arthur a sideways glance, not liking that he was interrupted. “Given how drunk he was, he probably didn’t make it far. You guys should be able to find him nearby that is if he isn’t already…” the boss trailed off, shrugging that last bit.

 

“Oh god Arthur, we need to go!” Ari quickly said as she violently tugged at Arthur’s sleeves.

 

“Okay, let’s go,” Arthur said as he looked sympathetically at Ari. He then turned around and murmured soft thanks towards the boss who was already trying to break out the scuffle on the landing before cautiously proceeding towards the exit, knocking out empty bottles on the floor.

 

“Wait,” the boss ordered causing the three of them to stop and turn around. “I think it’s safer if you use the employee’s exit rather than the front door,” he offered as he gestured with his thumb at the door at the end of the bar.

 

Arthur glanced at the door before nodding thanks as he, Ari, and Dom squeezed by the boss towards the employee’s locker room. When he turned the doorknob, all three of them momentarily stopped when they saw Victor leaning against the wall smoking something. Victor didn’t even bat an eyelash at the three of them as he turned his back on them and carried on with his smoking. The three of them shuffled their way out the backdoor and into the open air.

 

“Oh my god!” Dom said loudly as they stepped outside. He hunched over and had his hands on his knees. “I don’t think my heart ever beat that fast in my entire fucking life,” he wheezed out as he leaned on a nearby garbage bin for support, legs shaky from what transpired inside.

 

“Can we please just go look for Eames?” Ari interrupted, appearing quite inconsolable and just about prone to a nervous breakdown. “I don’t even want to think what that guy just said back then.”

 

“Ari it’s going to be okay,” Arthur consoled the small girl as he wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. “Eames _and_ Ted will be fine.”

 

“Okay? Just okay Arthur?! What if they’re not?” Ari cried, looking helplessly at Arthur. “What if he’s not?” she continued with a whisper, obviously referring to Ted.

 

“He is because we are going to find him,” he said with conviction. “Dom, you and Ari take the car and see if you can spot him down this neighborhood,” he said as he pointed down a street.

 

Dom quickly straightened up and narrowed his eyes at his best friend. “Why? What are you going to do?”

 

“I’m going to go the other direction and see if he went that way,” Arthur said grimly.

 

“What?” Ari shouted as she wrestled out of Arthur’s grasp. “Arthur are you crazy? You could get mugged or worse!”

 

“Well we’re going to be wasting time if all three of us are traveling in the same direction!” Arthur snapped. “You heard the man. Eames could be hurt or worse…” he said with a grimace. “Our best option is to split up. We’ll cover more ground that way.” He then looked at Ari; “You have a sprained ankle, so obviously you need to be in the car.”

 

“Dominic!” Ari shouted at Dom, looking for support on her stance.

 

Arthur glowered at Dom, showing his blond best friend that he wasn’t backing down on this. He was afraid that Eames might be hurt. He didn’t know just how capable Eames was with regards to self-defense; so the faster they could find him, the fucking better.

 

Dom looked at Arthur dead straight in the eyes before finally sighing. “At least take my Taser and whistle,” he said as he tossed his items towards his friend who caught them perfectly.

 

“Dom!” Ari shrieked, shaking her head in disapproval.

 

“Look Ari, I don’t like this either, but Arthur’s right. The faster we find Eames, the better,” he said grimly at the girl.

 

“Thanks Dom,” Arthur replied as he pocketed Dom’s pseudo weapons.

 

Ari just glared with unbridled contempt at Dom who simply shrugged his shoulders at her before finally giving in. “Fine, Arthur. But if I find your name in the obituary in the morning, I am never going to forgive you,” she said as she walked up to her friend and briefly hugged him with all her might.

 

“And I’m sure you’ll find some way to haunt me beyond the grave if that ever happens,” Arthur nervously chuckled as he returned the hug. After breaking it off, he looked at Dom whom seemed that he too wanted to say something.

 

“You better stay fucking safe, you hear me?” Dom threatened him as he too hugged him. “I gave you that Taser and rape whistle for a fucking reason.”

 

“I really hope I don’t have to use them Dom.”

 

 

-

 

 

_Eames, where the fuck are you?_ Arthur screamed inside his head as he briskly jogged around the block. It had been almost half an hour ago when he split from Dom and Ari and so far, neither he or the other two (they haven’t called him to say otherwise) have found the Brit. He was beginning to get exhausted from all the running around and asking random people (that didn’t look too shady) on the street if they have seen Eames in any shape or form.

 

“Fuck!” he swore a little loudly as he almost slipped on a puddle that he thought he successfully jumped over. _Great_ , Arthur thought as he managed to compose his sense of balance before falling on the floor. _The last thing I need right now is a fucking concussion._

Arthur straightened his sweatshirt out and managed to glance across the street where three men were staring back at him. They were all wearing black hoodies and had their hands in their pockets, twirling something inside. Arthur didn’t want to find out what they were keeping hidden inside their baggy jeans. He quickly walked ahead, making sure to be as inconspicuous as possible. As he passed a closed down diner, he sneakily glanced at the glass and saw that the three men were walking a few paces behind him.

 

_Shit_.

 

The architect hastened his pace, not liking that he was being followed. His right hand slowly making his way into his jeans’ right pocket and gripped Dom’s Taser like it was the Holy Grail.

 

_I need to go to place with lots of people, stat!_ Arthur thought to himself as he looked around eagerly for any area with several people. He figured those goons wouldn’t try doing anything if people surrounded them. To his unfortunate luck, most stores in the direction he was walking in were closed. The last diner he saw open was almost four blocks ago. Adding insult to an already painful injury, the streets were fucking empty. He hastened his pace without looking like he was escaping something or someone. A few heavy breaths later he found himself in a deserted neighborhood. He clutched his chest and intended to normalize his rapid breathing and thought for a split second he was safe until he crashed into a very large man who suddenly appeared from an alley.

 

“Oof!” Arthur grumbled as he stumbled backwards to the ground.

 

“Going somewhere pretty boy?” the large man smirked at him. It wasn’t until Arthur had a good look at him that he noticed he was wearing the exact same threads as the three hooligans chasing him. Before Arthur could do anything, the large man grabbed him by the hem of his sweatshirt, hauled him up and tossed him in the alley.

 

Arthur groaned as his face scraped the hard concrete, hearing an almost dreadful roar of laughter from behind him.

 

“Took you long enough Tiger. Thought we’d be running his ass across the neighborhood all night long!” one of the guys spat.

 

“Ain’t my fault this guy took his time Shawn T. Had to take a lot of fucking detours.”

 

_And they had nicknames. Great._ _Just fucking great_. Arthur thought as he slowly wiped dirt off his face.

 

“Yo pretty boy, time to cough up some motherfucking dough, ya hear?” one of the thugs teased as he casually walked up to Arthur who was slowly standing up.

 

As soon as he heard footsteps approaching him, Arthur’s reflexes turned over as he grabbed the Taser from his pockets, turned around and actually shocked the motherfucker with a yelp. The man he hit screamed in agony as he trembled from the shock as his gang mates shouted in surprise. Arthur’s eye widened as he watched his attacker crumple down on the ground, needle stuck on his torso.

 

“Holy shit. He just Taser-ed Trick!” one man said as all of them looked at their incapacitated comrade with disbelief.

 

Another man (because honestly, Arthur had no idea which guy was which) growled as he pointed angrily at Arthur. “That’s it!” he snarled, taking off the hood, revealing tattoos on his bald head. “You’re going down motherfucker!” he spat, pulling out a switchblade from his back pocket and charged at the architect.

 

With his Taser used up, Arthur didn’t see the point of staying any longer. Neither did his legs as he suddenly found himself bolting from the spot and further deeper into the alleyways.

 

“You’re not going to fucking escape us _pretty boy!”_   The thugs barked as they too figured into a chase.

 

Arthur ran as fast as his feet could carry him, dodging walls and overturning garbage cans, all the while fumbling with Dom’s rape whistle in his hands. He never thought he would find the day wherein he would actually blow a fucking rape whistle. If you told him that before, he would probably just laugh at your face. But desperate times call for desperate measures and if he didn’t attract any attention or help from anyone, he’d be dead. For sure.

 

_If I find your name in the obituary in the morning, I am never going to forgive you_ , the worried words of Ari rang loud in his head as he ran, pretty much for dear life at this point.

 

“Fuck!” he swore loudly as he accidentally dropped the whistle on the ground. Screaming at his stupidity, Arthur momentarily stopped and contemplated going back for it, but when he saw his attacker’s gaining ground on him, he decided it simply wasn’t worth it. He cussed again as he continued running.

 

That small, short moment of indecision proved to be his downfall as Arthur felt someone tackling him from behind. As soon as he hit the ground, he tried to wrestle his way out, but he was pinned down good. The man with the switchblade sat on his chest and smiled deviously at him, twirling his blade on his hand.

 

“You’re gonna fucking get it pretty boy,” he said, menacingly.

 

“He made us run all the way here, I want to break him in half,” echoed the other burly man.

 

“No wait! Please!” Arthur pleaded. “Help! Someone! PLEASE!”

 

“Too late bitch!” the man chuckled as he brought his arm up, ready to slash at Arthur’s face. He looked around the empty alleyway to make a point, “No one is going to help you!”

 

All the architect could do in response was stare helplessly at the man’s eyes, finding himself getting lost in the amount of crazy he was seeing. The man flashed his yellow teeth at Arthur before it suddenly and unexpectedly broke into a hundred pieces as a huge brick collided with his attacker’s face with a considerable amount of force. The man gurgled in pain before falling on Arthur’s side.

 

“Holy shit!” Arthur muttered, not really sure what was going on as he pushed switchblade man off of him and scrambled a few inches away from the body until a voice stopped him.

 

“You don’t fucking touch Arthur.”

 

Arthur stiffened, recognizing that fucking voice anywhere in the world. He snapped his head around and saw Eames, looking extremely furious but also physically looking in the saddest state possible. Gone was the mischievous glimmer in his eyes and the almost permanent smirk on his face and in place was a blank, sullen yet focused expression that got in the way of his stringy, messy hair and a deep set of eye bags that put any night owl to shame.

 

“Eames!” Arthur yelled, as he felt tears suddenly trickling down his face, not only from the relief, but also from the fact that the Brit pretty much just saved his life.

 

“Who the fuck are you?” one of his attackers snarled as he took a step forward, not liking that that they were being shown up by a fucking foreigner.

 

“Listen you motherfucking cunts,” Eames threatened, voice dripping with acid. “If any of you two fucking touch Arthur again, I am going to fucking break not only your noses and your teeth, but every bloody bone in your body.”

 

Hearing Eames’ warning, the attacker halted his advance and glared at him. “You stupid piece of shit. You don’t know who you’re dealing with!” he sneered.

 

“By all means, do introduce yourselves,” Eames said as he beckoned for the two of them to come at him. The goad worked as the two thugs suddenly charged past Arthur and set their target at the Brit at the far end of the alley.

 

“Eames!” Arthur cried as he watched helplessly as the two attackers zoomed past him towards the other man.

 

One of the thugs had a switchblade as well, ready to strike at Eames’ neck. The Brit merely ducked and parried as he pushed two fingers against the man’s neck, knocking the wind out of him causing him to drop the knife in the process. While he gasped for breath, his comrade tried sneaking a punch at Eames’ back, but the Brit somehow anticipated the move. He narrowly dodged the punch as he butted heads with his attacker, striking out his opponent. Eames didn’t waste any time whatsoever as he grabbed the man’s arm and hoisted him over his muscular back and slammed him hard onto the concrete floor, knocking him out. By that time, the first thug finally calmed down and charged at Eames with a punch of his own, seething with absolute fury. Arthur watched as a swift Eames (belying his build) kicked his next attacker in the shin, elbow him hard on the nose and as the man started to see stars he threw in another kick at the groin for good measure. The Brit pulled the man’s shirt and shoved him on the grimy concrete floor. “I told you not to mess with Arthur,” he finished off.

 

Arthur’s attention was interrupted when he heard a very distinctive click beside him. He turned to his right and saw the man who attacked him from a shroud of darkness clutching a gun and aiming it at Eames, smiling menacingly albeit the lack of teeth. As soon as Arthur saw the barrel of the gun poke through, he found himself instinctively standing up, and running towards Eames.

 

“EAMES! LOOK OUT!” Arthur screamed to warn Eames.

 

Before Eames could turn around and even think of doing anything, Arthur was already in between him and the attacker, blocking the confused Brit from the unrelenting aim.

 

“Arthur?”

 

A gunshot rang in the alley.

 

“ARTHUR!!!!”

 

 

 

-0-0-

 

_It’s easy to fall in love_

_It’s easy to be alone_

_It’s easy to hate yourself_

_When all your love is inside someone else_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was somewhat uninspired writing this chapter. Hopefully it doesn't show.


End file.
